


I'd Be Fine With A Dog Too

by randomramblesff



Series: But I Let You Go [4]
Category: Community (TV)
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Future Fic, Romance, jeff x annie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-22
Updated: 2015-12-12
Packaged: 2018-05-02 22:32:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 23,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5266244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomramblesff/pseuds/randomramblesff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(PART FOUR OF THE "BUT I LET YOU GO" SERIES) What happens when Jeff's vision have become a reality? A future fic, with lots of heart and most importantly... Jeff and Annie! Set after the Community Season 6 Finale (S6E13), in the future of 2016 and beyond...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 2016

**Author's Note:**

> (Months my jump ahead quite a bit, but hope it's still enjoyable! Might not update as often but let's be honest, I probably will. I could write Jeff & Annie stories forever.)

**November**

Most nights went a bit like this now-a-days. Sebastian was now three months old and was happy and healthy along with his parents, but they were pretty exhausted, so it didn’t help that they were woken up at about three AM each night (or morning?).

Annie’s body clock was now set to wake herself up at the exact moment he started to stir, so it was easy to prepare herself for a half asleep feed, but every now and then she’d get Jeff involved, even though she knew he already did _a lot_ in the daytime. Unfortunately for him, tonight was one of those nights.

 _“Jeff… can you get him?”_ Annie whispered.

“Mhmm.” Jeff mumbled, barely even opening his eyes before stumbling out of bed in just a pair of boxer shorts to get Sebastian from the spare room (well, _his_ room now). A few moments later, Jeff returned with Sebastian, placing him down with Annie before slipping back in to bed to catch those vital fifteen (to twenty) minutes of sleep before having to get back up again and settle his son in his cot.

Annie often drifted off as she fed, so Jeff made sure to turn over and put a hand on her leg, tapping with a finger every now and again to keep her awake. After those fifteen minutes, Annie patted Sebastian on the back, but even after burping, he still seemed unsettled. Jeff sighed, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

“It’s okay… Mommy’s here. Are you still hungry?” Annie spoke in her baby voice as Sebastian cried and grumbled in her arms. Jeff flicked on a side light, making all three of them squint to the change of brightness. Annie tried latching him back again but for some reason he wasn’t interested.

“Is he teething? It would be pretty early but…” Jeff suggested, his face scrunched up grumpily at the rude awakening he’d been given. It wasn’t unusual, but he was Jeff… he liked his beauty sleep.

“No… and his diaper is fine, so… Sebastian, it’s okay, no… shh, shh, shh, it’s bed time, okay? Shh shh shh…” Annie carried on with her baby talk as Jeff thought over what it could be.

“Do you want me to try?” Annie shrugged, unsure why it would help, but she gave in, passing Sebastian to Jeff, who stood up and cradled him closely… but it didn’t seem to be working as his cries stayed at the same volume. Annie huffed, standing up and peering over Jeff’s arm.

“I think he just needs to relax… maybe he had a bad dream? I think we should put him down on the bed and… maybe we should just change him and give him a rub, or whatever? He might just need soothing.” Jeff shook his head.

“No, no, maybe we should just settle him back down… he might be overtired.” Jeff rocked his arms, making calming noises for his son.

“Well _obviously_ he’s overtired… he’s screaming!” Jeff rolled his eyes at Annie as she stated the obvious.

“I’m just suggesting something, okay?” Jeff defended himself.

“And _so_ am I? Why can’t we just calm him down and _then_ put him back in his cot.”

“Fine, whatever.” Jeff said, adding to the tension in the room.

They often ended up in situations like this, where one of them had one idea and the other had theirs. It was difficult because things were pretty complicated in the parenting department. Jeff had pushed all of his classes at Greendale towards the start of the week so he could be home when Annie was away at her part-time job at the FBI, meaning that from Monday to Wednesday, _he_ was the one making most of the decisions and that from Thursday to Sunday, _she_ was the one making them.

“See, there.” Annie said as she settled Sebastian back down after a soothing rub with the _rather_ pricey moisturiser Jeff had insisted on buying (“He needs to look after his skin as much as his dad does!”).

As they settled back down into bed for the last ‘stint’ of the night, Jeff clasped his hands around Annie’s waist and pressed a kiss on the curve of her shoulder.

“Sorry.” He mumbled.

“For what?” Annie said, turning her head so that Jeff’s face was right in the corner of her eye.

“For getting mad.”

“Yeah, we really need to work on that.” Annie admitted, rubbing her hand over Jeff’s.

“We could get a nanny; you know that right?”

“I know… just, not yet.” Jeff pouted… he was fine with it all, but he didn’t want to see Annie putting too much pressure on herself. She’d already had to cut out Greendale from her schedule… there was no longer anyone sitting in her chair at the committee meetings, even though she wishes she was still at every single one. Things were changing, and the word ‘compromise’ had been thrown around a lot.

But it was their life; the one they’d chosen… and it wasn’t going away anytime soon.

* * *

 

**December**

“Where’s Annie?” Britta asked as Jeff pulled a chair up to a table in her bar.

“Where d’ya think?” Jeff said as he pushed a beer up to his mouth. It was the first time he’d been out since having Sebastian, so he deserved a drink (or two). Annie had insisted he go out and enjoy herself as she had a few things to finish from work and of course, she had mom things to do too.

“Does she ever go out anymore?” Britta laughed under her breath, causing Jeff to do the same.

“Nope. Well, actually, that’s not true… she did go out to one of her fancy FBI dinners but only because it was obligatory. I can't even remember the last time we had sex.” Jeff added, as Britta pulled a face.

“TMI, Jeff, TMI.”

“It’s called _parenting_ problems.”

“Jeez, you even _sound_ like a dad now.”

“I know… I feel wrong to drink this drink without talking about the side effects of alcohol. Who have I become?”

“A horny, mushy dad who contributes his small amount of wages to a marijuana smoking bar tender who’s failing at her psych major… and life.” Britta smiled jokingly, her hands on her hips.

“You’re failing?” Jeff scoffed.

“I’m not _failing,_ I’m just not doing as well as I’d hoped… and yes, I have standards, even if all of those other things are true.”

“Well at least you’re waking up at three in the morning because you got too drunk… I’m waking up at three in the morning to push a baby onto a boob that's getting more action than me.”

“Wow, you don’t sound horny _at all._ Gross.” Jeff just shrugged, gulping back some more beer.

“But… you’re happy right? You ‘love her’ and all of that crap.” Britta asked, wiping a surface at the same time.

“Yeah and all of that crap… being a dad to a four-month year old baby is torturous and terrible, and terrifying and tragic, but also at the same time it’s… incredible, exciting, humbling and… inspiring somehow. It’s _weird,_ but again… I wouldn’t change things. I am _proud_ to be mushy over it even if I do just wish I could erase the sound of screaming out of my brain.”

“You’re _really_ selling this parent thing, aren’t you?”

“Best. Thing. Ever.” Jeff said, smiling afterwards, pouting into his beer. Britta noticed as his smile didn’t fade.

“Oh god, you’re serious.”

* * *

 

“Happy… Hannu-mas?” Jeff said, clinking his glass to Annie’s as they sat down for a Hannukah/Christmas combined meal.

“Yup… and happy non-religious day to Sebastian because we’re not pushing Judaism or agnosticism onto him… _evenifIwouldratherhebeJewish…”_ Jeff tilted his head to Annie’s last mumbled comment.

“This has been a weird year.” Jeff said as he mulled it all over.

“It’s not over yet… when it comes to Greendale and our life things could still get weirder.” Jeff nodded, knowing exactly what Annie meant.

“But… I mean, we got… _married…_ and we had a _kid…_ and I did all of these things I _swore_ I’d never do.”

“And…? I’m proud of you… and I’m happy. It’s not necessarily what I had planned but somehow it still worked out pretty well.”

“Yeah, somehow.”

A while later they found themselves cuddled up, spread across the couch, a blanket thrown over them as Sebastian peacefully slept in his room. Jeff brushed his hands underneath Annie’s vest, making her body tingle at the soft touch. He kissed the side of her neck as she bit her lip… the feeling of Jeff holding her close always made her feel safe, so right now, she felt _very_ comfortable.

Jeff kept peppering kisses up her neck as the TV flashed before them. Annie didn’t seem to complain when Jeff’s hands ran a little higher, his kisses soon running up the side of her jaw, nibbling slightly at her soft skin. She took a deep breath and bit her lip.

“Jeff…” She murmured, waiting for him to stop what he was doing (to her).

“Yeah?” He mumbled into the side of her neck, his warm breath adding to her tingles.

“Not now.” He stopped at that though, pulling away and biting his own lip. He nodded and pulled away his hands, stretching them out behind them. Jeff sighed, pushing himself to the back of the couch as much as he could. Annie pulled herself up and walked over to the bedroom door.

“I’m sorry… I just… _he’s right there!”_ Annie said, pointing to Sebastian’s door that was propped open. Jeff gritted his teeth and sat back on the couch, taking up the room Annie had been occupying.

“Fine.”


	2. 2017 - February

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Not really sure where this part of the fanfiction is going.. just short little clips I manage to write every now and again. We'll see! Also, the chapters might be shorter... I was planning on uploading a "year" at a time, but then I might never get it done... so.... enjoy!)

**February**

“So… I was thinking… what if we got a babysitter on Tuesday night?” Jeff asked as Annie typed something away on her laptop. She looked up, pausing with wide eyes.

“What’s happening on Tuesday?” Annie smiled, her fingers delicately hovering on her keyboard, waiting to continue.

“Err… February 14th?” Jeff said with a tilt of his head. Annie dropped her fingers, realising she had totally forgotten and _Jeff_ of all people had remembered.

“Well… I… mayb…” Annie mulled it over, watching Jeff as he tried his best to do his own version of her pleading Disney eyes. She rolled her own, smiling at the fact that he did _actually_ look kind of cute with his attempt.

“…yeah. Why not? But… it doesn’t _really_ solve the problem, I mean, he’ll still be here…” Annie said suggestively.

“And err, what’s the problem that needs solving, huh?” Jeff said, crossing his arms and wiggling his eyebrows.

“Ugh, don’t do that.” Annie said, getting back to her typing as Jeff stood and started rubbing her shoulders, making her pause once again to let out a relaxed sigh. Jeff crouched down, tucking his chin onto her shoulder.

“We can find someone to take him for _one_ night and then _we_ can have the house to our own.” Annie cringed at Jeff, stuffing a hand in his face, but he didn’t take the hint of course, as he brushed his face up against it, dragging his bottom lip over her hand and biting at her fingers.

“Unless you want me to call you _old,_ please leave me be.” Annie ignored his shocked face, sniggering to herself, knowing it would make him slightly annoyed.

“Bitch.”

Annie snapped around, squinting at him and shaking her head but he just laughed, a mischievous grin across his face as he realised she could never look angry at him because somehow she just looked even more _fierce_ and inviting. Jeff wiggled his eyebrows again before walking away, knowing he’d pushed her buttons. They both returned to their respective activities (work for Annie, baby entertaining for Jeff), smiling and smirking about the other person.

* * *

 

Jeff stuffed a few things into a bag, double checking for diapers and any other baby essentials before opening the front door and letting in the baby sitter (a student from Greendale who he’d met a couple of times) to collect Sebastian.

“Err, all of the stuff is in there, there’s some bottles, you have our number and… I think that’s it.” Jeff said, passing her the bag before taking the baby carrier (that Sebastian was napping in) from Annie’s hand and giving it away. It was a pretty big moment… they’d yet to really let anyone have their hands on Sebastian longer than ten minutes, so it felt very odd to shut the door before picking up their things for a night out. Annie quickly slipped on some heels as Jeff waited for her, his heart fluttering as she entered back into the room, in the same black dress she’d worn on their first proper date.

“You look…” Jeff shook his head a little at how gorgeous she looked, his mouth dropping open a little. Annie wondered over, a sassy walk in her step that Jeff wasn’t sure he’d seen before.

“…Sexy?” She practically purred at him, pouting slightly. He wasn’t sure if she was trying to play around with him for a laugh or whether she actually meant it, but either way, it was _working._ Jeff shook his head again, his eyes bulging as her fingers slid down his chest.

“Y…yeah.”

* * *

 

After a dinner that had them wondering what they used to talk about other than baby poop and diapers, they slipped into a booth at a nearby bar, some random band playing in the background. Jeff still couldn’t believe how lucky he really was… he was married, with a kid, to the most beautiful woman he thought he’d ever laid eyes on. Annie swayed a little in her seat as she held a martini glass in her hand, a stick of olives swaying around inside. Jeff of course nursed a scotch, sipping it down every now and again, especially when Annie’s hand ran a little further up his leg than she’d intended.

“Is it bad that I’m looking at everyone’s handbags around here to try and work out which one would fit the most in, in terms of like, stuff for Sebastian?” Jeff laughed at her question, his hand dangling across her shoulder, as he bent his neck down to her level.

“Is it bad that I’m looking at every guy in the room to try and work out which ones are dads?” Annie laughed at his question too, scanning the room herself.

“Well that guy is _definitely_ a dad… he has a dad beard.” Jeff pouted, unsure whether he should be flattered or offended.

“What’s a… dad beard?” He asked, just to clarify.

“One that they’ve grown _just_ because they’re a dad… he just doesn’t suit it. Oh and don’t worry, I don’t mean you, I mean, I haven’t see you without a beard for like three years.” Annie tapped his knee, before returning to dad hunt.

“What about that guy?” Jeff said, pointing to a guy who had no shame in the fact that a woman was basically climbing all over him.

“Oh god, I _hope_ not…” Annie said, pulling a face at the thought.

“Do _I_ look like a dad?” Jeff said, pointing his scotch glass filled hand to his face. Annie paused, tilting her head to tease him.

“Hmm… a _handsome_ dad.” He could work with that.

The band had started playing some slow sappy song that lowered the bar into a muffle of different noises, leaving Jeff and Annie in a silence. Jeff was happy to just sit and watch, his hand now intertwined with Annie’s as she tapped a foot to the beat. It was fine for a while until Jeff looked down at the time and realised that if they wanted to _really_ top off the evening, they should probably start now. He lowered his neck again, whispering softly into Annie’s ear.

_“Do you want to get out of here?”_

Annie turned to look at him, a glimmer of excitement in her eye as she bit down on her lip.

“Yeah.” She said back, making Jeff’s eyes bulge again as his teeth clenched down together. _Holy crap, how have I resisted for so long again…_ Jeff thought as Annie got up, swinging her bag over her shoulder before shimmying through the crowd. Jeff sat for a second, smiling at himself.


	3. 2017 - May

“Oh sure, I’ll get onto that tomorrow… yeah, no, I left them on the desk… that should be fine… I’ll ask… okay, great… speak tomorrow.” Annie finished up a phone call at the dinner table; something that had become a regular occurrence as her work started to get busier. Jeff didn’t really have a problem with it… it’s what he wanted. He wanted her to be successful and giving her career her all, but he hadn’t really thought about the consequences it might have in terms of his life and _their_ life.

Jeff carried on eating, smiling slightly as she put her phone down. Sebastian was eight months old now, sitting in his high chair for meal times and eating bits and bobs that he was able to chew up, being helped out every now and again by his parents. Annie smiled at him, encouraging him to eat some vegetables that were chopped up, before her phone buzzed again. She knew Jeff was watching her, but the caller ID belonged to one of her closer friends from her job so she avoided his eyesight and picked it up anyway.

“Hey… aha, I know, it was terrible!... really? Oh my gosh… aha,” Annie paused, glancing at Jeff who’d stopped eating, his knife and fork clasped in his hands, his eyes bearing through her.

“…I should probably go, I’m so sorry… yeah, talk to you tomorrow… oh, I might come, I’m not sure yet because of Sebastian and… ha, yeah, probably… okay, bye!” Annie cooed down the phone before putting back on the table and switching it to silent. They both went back to eating but stayed silent other than a few comments to their son and an ‘I’ll do it’ from Jeff about the washing up.

As soon as Sebastian was in his cot though, Annie couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Are you… mad at me?” She said, standing over the couch where Jeff was sat.

“No.” He answered bluntly, not looking up at her.

“For someone who was meant to have been a lawyer, you’re a really bad liar.” Jeff closed his eyes and held back any form of anger at the comment, clasping his hands together.

“I’m sorry… things have been really busy but _really_ good at work and… there’s a position open in DC, and I’ve been trying my hardest to get in everyone’s good books so that maybe… I don’t even know why though because it’s not like I’d take it anyway…”

“Why not?” Jeff said with a shrug.

“Because… this is our life, and I can’t move us all to DC.”

“Why not?” Jeff shrugged again, this time with a bit of a laugh in his voice. Annie scrunched in her brow, letting out a bit of gasp.

“Why _not?_ Jeff… I’m already a _crap_ mother and a… crap _wife_ or whatever… I’m not going to just make us pack up and leave. You don’t even want that!” Jeff was stood up now, towering over Annie with crossed arms.

“You’re not a crap mom Annie… or a crap wife. I mean seriously… I’m the _crap_ guy who _wants_ this. Okay yeah I’d kind of like it if you didn’t have your phone at the table every night but seriously I used to do that too and there was _nobody_ on the other end. If you want to do something, you have to do it, and I’ll do it too because that’s more important to me than staying at a _toilet_ of a school for the rest of my life.” Annie bit her lip as Jeff opened up. Now-a-days when Jeff opened up, he _really_ opened up. It was hard for him not to because part of getting married was being honest with each other, finally, after all the years of denial behind him.

“ _Itsnotatoiletanymore_ but… what would you do?”

“I’d… carry on doing my classes for Greendale. I do a couple of them from home now anyway and it wouldn’t be that hard… I could look after Sebastian and it could actually work.” Jeff suddenly realised that could be his idea of perfect… okay he did still have a tiny bit of ambition in him but if he could stay at home with his _son_ whilst his _wife_ goes out and lives her dreams, he’d kind of be okay with that.

“You’d be okay with that?” Annie asked, twisting her eyebrows, her face full of uncertainty. Jeff nodded, accepting Annie’s hug as her cheek hit his chest, the comforting noise of his heartbeat making her feel calm and sure again.


	4. 2017 - June

**June**

Jeff wondered through the cafeteria, a nine month old Sebastian on his shoulder, before sliding into a booth with Britta and Frankie who were chatting away about some feminist cause, hardly even realising his arrival at lunch time. They soon realised when Jeff started cooing and talking to Sebastian in his ‘Sebastian voice’, bumping him up and down in one arm.

“Ugh, why is there a baby on campus?” Britta moaned, trying her hardest to hold in a tiny bit of an ‘aww’ at the sight of Jeff and his tiny companion.

“Annie’s working an extra day so I have to look after him, and our baby sitter was busy so… yeah. Fun times.” Jeff replied, appreciating the fact they’d finally acknowledged him.

“He must be getting close to one now, mustn’t he?” Frankie said, raising the pitch of her voice just a little bit as she smiled across from Jeff. Sebastian was now perched on the side of the table, Jeff’s hands clasping around his body to hold him safe as he wobbled around.

“Yeah, getting old aren’t you buddy?” Jeff raised his eyebrows, pulling a face as Sebastian’s eyes wondered around the cafeteria.

“Ugh, for someone who always denied the fact they wanted kids or to get married, you’re so… sappy.” Britta threw her hands in the air, getting back to her food to distract herself from Jeff and his ‘daddy bubble’.

“You’re just saying that because you haven’t had kids. Come on, hold him. I need to eat so you can hold him for like two minutes.” Jeff turned Sebastian around, scooting him forward slightly so Britta could grab him.

“I’m not holding him! Who do you think I am? Mary Poppins? No, give him to Frankie.” Britta crossed her arms, scrunching up her face in defence.

“Oh come on, look he knows your name. Sebastian, where’s Britta?” Sebastian waved a hand towards her, turning his head back around to babble back at his dad.

“See, plus, you’ve looked after him before, it’s not a big deal.”

“Yeah for like five minutes.” Britta rolled her eyes as Jeff slid out of the booth and passed Sebastian over to Britta, shooting a thin lipped smile her way.

“This will be _two_ minutes.” Jeff walked off, grabbing a tray before pushing into line for his sloppy serving of meatballs and potato. Jeff looked back over to the table as the dinner lady served up some more food, his tray sliding down the counter on its own accord as students queued up behind him.

Back at the booth, Britta was of course doing a fine job, Jeff could even see a smile across his son’s face, his hands waving in the air as Britta made some absurd noises. Jeff smirked before flicking his wrist up to check the time. It was 12:45, if he slipped away now for ten minutes, he could eat his lunch in peace and maybe mark one or two papers at the same time. As soon as he was finished in line, he slipped away, dashing out into the hallways of Greendale, to his office.

A few moments later Britta scanned the cafeteria, her eye catching onto one long leg quickly disappearing around the corner.

“Jeffrey!” Britta cried out, her face scrunching up as she gritted her teeth. _Ugh_.

* * *

 

“You can’t do that you know.” Britta said as he burst through Jeff’s office door, Sebastian on her hip.

“What?” Jeff said, looking up from his plate of food, a tiny smirk forming at the edge of his mouth.

“Leaving me. Unattended. With a baby!” Britta jolted her head forward before passing Sebastian back over to Jeff, his little shoes just missing the bottle of scotch on Jeff’s desk.

“You were with Frankie. I trust you enough to know you wouldn’t let him stab himself in the eye with your fork.” Jeff said, quickly snatching his own fork away from Sebastian’s finger tips.

“Ugh, whatever, just a reminder for next time; I don’t do babies.” Jeff shrugged, scraping the last bit of his food into his mouth before washing it down with some water.

“What’s up with you anyway?” Britta asked, leaning against the open doorway of Jeff’s office.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You and Annie… I don’t know you just seem _tense_ lately and plus, where is she? Isn’t she still meant to be taking classes?” Jeff rubbed his eye, his other arm holding Sebastian in his lap.

“Yeah well, she’s been working her _ass_ of. You thought she used to be bad… this is another level of Annie…” Jeff paused before speaking again, letting out a slight sigh, “…she’s trying to get a job in DC.”

“Ooooh. So you’re freaking out?”

“I’m not freaking out, I’m just… scared she’s going to break. I mean she _literally_ doesn’t stop.”

“No but I mean like, what’s Jeff Winger gonna’ do in Washington DC?” Britta scoffed a little, thinking about it.

“I haven’t spoken to Frankie yet but hopefully I can still teach for Greendale. I mean, I do it from home now, so I don’t see why I can’t if we got up and left this place.” Britta nodded, sticking her bottom lip out in thought.

“So there’s no part of you left that wants to be a lawyer jerk?” Jeff was scoffing now, eyeing the bottle of scotch on his desk.

“Thanks… but there’s always going to be a part of me who _wants_ to go back… I guess it’s just deciding how _much_ of me wants to.”

“I thought you hated this job?” Britta waved a hand around the room.

“Ugh, I don’t _hate_ it, I just… it’s like you right; you want to do all of this stuff but you end up feeling like a piece of…” Jeff looked down at Sebastian whose ears were taking in every single word he was saying, before continuing with that phrase, “…failure when you end up doing something different. But that’s life… nothing I’ve done for the past… twenty years has gone the way I planned. I wanted to be a lawyer living in some fancy-ass apartment in a big city where I could literally roll off of cash and screw whoever walked through my door… but now I’m a teacher at a community college, barely making enough money to feed my nine-month year old baby.” Jeff scratched his chin, realising how far this conversation had gone. Britta started nodding before a waving her hands in the air and swaying from side to side.

“Did I just _therapize_ you?!” Britta put on a voice as she realised she’d actually gotten somewhere.

“No… I just open up more easily now. It’s the kind of person I am.” Jeff shrugged.

“And I had _no_ part in that?” Britta wiggled her eyebrows and carried on swaying.

“No… so get out.” Jeff waved a hand at her before she backed out of the door, waving her hands in front of her.

“THERA-PIZED!” Britta shouted down the hall.

“You owe me fifty bucks if you end up having kids by the time you’re my age!” Jeff called out, leaning forward on his desk so she’d hear him outside.

“DEAL!” Britta called back out.

“Making a note of it!”

* * *

 

Annie tapped her finger nails on the kitchen counter as she waited for her coffee to brew up, letting out a slow sigh before pacing up and down, her hands swaying up and down. Jeff was on the couch in his boxers, the TV flickering in front of him, his feet up on the table in front of him, in amongst a pile of baby toys and onesies. He scratched the back of his head before looking over to Annie in the kitchen.

“What are you doing?” He asked as she carried on pacing up and down.

“Waiting for my coffee.” Annie said, pointing a finger to the machine before turning herself back around again.

“No you’re not.”

“I am!” Annie shrieked slightly, making Jeff tilt his head and sigh himself.

“Well why do you keep pacing up and down and sighing and doing all of that? Plus… the machine went off two minutes ago.” Jeff said, pointing the mug that was steaming away, full of hot coffee. Annie looked over it and rolled her eyes.

“Come.” Jeff said, waving a hand over to the couch. Annie wondered over, placing her coffee down on the side before standing over Jeff with a slightly pouting face, trying her best to ignore the fact that he was just in his underwear. He wrapped his hands around the backs of her legs, pulling her down onto his lap, her knees perching either side of his hips. Annie rolled her eyes before looking down at him.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m just… worried… that I’m not going to get it.” Annie bit her lip, making Jeff grit his teeth not only at the thought she was underestimating herself but also at the thought that she was looking extremely beautiful; her hair pulled back into a pony tail, a few wispy bits just framing her face that was lit up by the colour of her purple hoodie that she was wearing along with some tight fitting jeans that were brushing up against him.

“Why would you not get it?” Jeff shook his head.

“Because… not only did I go to rehab but now I’m a _mom._ They’re not going to take me seriously! Plus, they’ll probably hire somebody who’s already in DC so they don’t have to deal with someone moving their life and everything. I didn’t even go to Quantico…” Annie started to ramble, but stopped as Jeff’s hands brushed down the side of her arms.

“That’s what you’re worried about? Seriously? Come on… you’re Annie freaking Edison. You’re _going_ to get it… and if not… you just carry on being awesome and wait for something better but I know for a fact being a mom, won’t be a problem. Do you remember when you said being a teacher was like the most noble profession or whatever? Well, one up from that is being a parent… so, who cares. Right?” A small smile crossed Annie’s face as her eyebrows tilted upwards.

“When did you start being so…. _perfect?_ ” Annie said, swatting Jeff’s bare chest playfully. He smiled back, definitely not feeling anything as she bounced on him slightly.

“I am _not_ perfect Annie, I’m just rakishly good looking and care about you, a _lot._ ”

“Pretty sure that’s the definition of perfect.” Annie whispered, placing a kiss on Jeff’s forehead.

“Probably wouldn’t talk like that when you’re sat right on top of me.” Annie bit her lip mischievously, making Jeff notice a tiny bit of colour flushing to her cheeks.

“Why’s that?”

“Because things… will start to happen.” Jeff said, his hands slipping around her waist as her own slipped up his chest.

“What kind of things?” She teased, sitting back up right to smile at him.

“The kind of things that shouldn’t happen when there’s a baby sleeping in the other room.”

Annie never did drink her coffee.


	5. 2017 - July

**July**

It was the summer now so both Jeff and Annie were at home more often, their lives feeling slightly less stressful even with the potential of moving across country in the near future. Annie was still working hard though so Jeff decided to put his foot down after coming in from a run one hot summer’s morning (he’d become the sort of dad who now runs with a pushchair so he can multitask).

“Right, we’re going out.” Jeff said as he stood by the doorway, scratching one finger at his cheek, as the other hand swayed out with his car keys. Sebastian was in the pushchair but was ready to be swiftly put into the back seat of the car. Annie turned around in her seat at the kitchen table, raising her eyebrows and making a bit of a squeaking ‘hmm?’ in response.

“We’re going out… so get your things.” Annie was still taken aback by Jeff’s burst back into the house, so she just pouted.

“When… and where…?”

“When; now. Where; err… some place with a pool or whatever? Bringing a swim suit.” Annie’s mouth curved into an ‘O’ shape as she realised she hadn’t worn a swim suit since before she’d had Sebastian and she was definitely not feeling at her most confident.

“Come on!” Jeff said shaking his hands in the air, motioning towards the front door. Annie got up and waltzed into the bedroom, pulling out a red pin-up style bikini she’d purchased on a whim. She slowly slipped it on, turning around and adjusting certain areas as she watched herself in the mirror. Annie bit her lip, her hands on her hips as she contemplated whether she was really up for whatever Jeff had in mind.

“Jeff...? Can you come here a minute?” Jeff rolled his eyes before properly brushing his trainers on the welcome mat and closing the door shut that he’d left open hoping Annie would only take a few seconds.

“Okay but can you please… just…” Jeff eyes landed on Annie as she turned around on the spot, still looking at herself in their bedroom’s full length mirror that had cost them more than it should have seeing as Jeff was 6ft 4” and ‘needed’ to see himself from head-to-toe. “…hurry up.”

It wasn’t a new sight to see Annie in next to nothing (or nothing at all) these days but he couldn’t help just stand still for a moment and take in the sight, his mouth dropping open without him realising. Annie crossed her arms over her chest, tilting to the side so he could admire all of her curves.

“What do you think? I haven’t really… you know… shown anything off in a while.” Jeff blinked slightly longer than usual with a gulp.

“Y-yeah… you look… _beautiful._ ” Jeff admitted, closing up his mouth again, his eyes still wide and adoring.

“Really? You’re not just saying that?” Jeff shook his head.

“No, seriously you look… great. If… I would… do things to… _that._ ” Jeff said, gesturing a hand over the length of her body, gulping once again. Annie rolled her eyes and thanked him before pulling on a pair of floaty trousers and a loose fitting top. Jeff had no idea why she’d even needed to ask but he had no problem in complimenting her when she was so deserved of it.

* * *

 

A while later they found themselves out a large open pool, the hot sun baring down on their little family as they perched on some free sunbeds, Sebastian in a tiny pair of shorts, his skin looking rather ghostly after Annie insisting he needed the highest SPF ever made. Jeff had now stripped off his sports t-shirt that he’d been wearing since his run; he was leaning on one elbow, scrolling through something on his phone, leaving enough time for Annie to do a bit of ogling herself… her sunglasses just dark enough that nobody would notice. She lay back, an almost one-year-old Sebastian perched up on her knees, his eyes squinted under the shade of an umbrella.

Jeff clambered up off of his bed before pulling Sebastian away from his mom and holding out a hand for her to join him. Annie politely obliged, standing up before stretching her top up and over her head. Jeff wasn’t sure if he’d imagined her taking her time and rolling her hips slightly or not, but he definitely wasn’t about to ask. Once Annie was fully exposed in her little red two-piece, they hovered at the pool edge, Annie nervously dipping a toe in and flicking up a few splashes at Jeff.

“You get in and I’ll pass you Sebastian.” Jeff said, making Annie moan a little at the fact that she had to test the waters first. A few moments later they were all up to their shoulders (well, except from Sebastian who found himself floating around in a baby boat, his little legs kicking under water), slowly wading around.

Annie sighed in satisfaction, floating on her back as Jeff dodged any splashes to avoid getting his hair wet, but the opportunity of swooping up underneath Annie was too tempting not to try, so he delved in under the water, glancing over to Sebastian’s legs under the water before poking his head up between Annie’s legs.

“Ugh, and for a second I thought I could _relax._ ” Annie said before Jeff pulled her up onto his shoulders, her chest _basically_ protruding into his face.

“Sebastian!” Annie cooed, making Jeff poke out an arm to pull him back closer. Annie looked back down at Jeff and bit her lip.

“My hair looks ridiculous, doesn’t it?” Annie nodded and mouthed ‘yeah’ before they both suddenly realised this was right about the time they should kiss. Annie leaned down, their lips touching and moving together as the water lapped up around them. Jeff’s grip on Sebastian’s boat slowly loosened as Annie slid down, Jeff’s hands wrapping around her waist as her legs latched onto him for safety. When Annie let out a tiny gasp and Jeff’s kisses started to move towards her Jaw, they soon realised (and remembered) that err, well, they definitely weren’t alone.  Annie pulled away, her legs dropping back down to circle in the water, her eyes catching onto Jeff’s hair that was now pointing in several different directions, before they caught onto Sebastian who was slowly floating away to the other side of the pool where several other members of the public were watching them. Annie looked away and lowered her voice.

“ _We have a baby… and he’s floating away…_ ”

“Ugh, and for a second I thought we were alone and about to have sex underwater.” Annie’s eyes snapped back up to Jeff who was grinning ridiculously. She splashed at him before kicking away to rescue the drifting baby. _Dammit,_ Jeff _genuinely_ thought.

* * *

 

It was one of those days when Annie just wondered… _Why is today so special?_

After swimming around for a bit longer, having time to gaze at Jeff as he stepped out of the pool, his tanned body covered in droplets of water and a glass of wine over lunch, everything just seemed _perfect_ for once in a while. They’d discovered a little path near to the pool to take a wonder down, Jeff still in just his shorts in attempt to dry them off before the drive home, Annie back in her top and trousers, her damp skin causing the top to cling at her bikini underneath, Sebastian taking a nap in the pushchair as they went along. Jeff had even slipped his hand into Annie’s as they wondered away, brushing his thumb against hers every now and again.

“Thanks.” Annie piped up after a moment of silence.

“For what?” Jeff slowed down a little, glancing down at her as they carried on walking.

“For today.” Jeff pouted, nodding his head forward.

“You don’t have to thank me.”

“Yeah well I want to… for you know, getting me out. It’s been really nice.” Jeff nodded again, flashing her a quick smile.

“You okay?” Annie asked, double-checking as their conversation when down again.

“Yeah, I’ve got no complaints.”

“Good.”


	6. 2017 - August

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I finally know where I'm going with this and how it's going to end - yayyy! Also, pretty long chapter.... makes up for shorter ones, I guess?!)

**August**

It was lunch time when the mail man slipped the letter through the door, the thin piece of paper drifting in almost slow-motion to the welcome mat, landing inside one of Jeff’s running shoes that he’d left by the door from the morning. Annie looked up from the table when she heard the noise, her neck jerking up in a rapid motion; something she’d been doing every day for the past three weeks in hopes that today might just be the day. She turned to Jeff with wide eyes, her heart racing slightly.

“What are you looking at me for, go get it.” Jeff said, waving Sebastian’s fork in the direction of the door before dunking back into a yoghurt pot. Annie nodded before dashing to the door. Her eyes lay on the FBI emblem, her hands starting to shake as she let out a tiny squeak. Jeff clenched on his teeth knowing that today must indeed be the day.

“I can’t do it.” Annie spoke breathlessly, her eyebrows scrunching up and inwards as she held the letter in her hands.

“Oh come _on,_ you’ve been waiting for weeks and now you can’t even open the stupid thing.” Annie scoffed.

“Ugh, it’s not _stupid,_ what if I don’t get it?!”

“How likely is that?”

“Ugh, _very_ likely. I’m very grateful that your world revolves around me like the sun but I’m not the only one applying for this.”

“My world _revolves_ around you like the sun?” Jeff grinned and pulled a questioning face at her comment, crossing his arms now that he was done with baby feeding duty.

“Ugh, okay, I can do this…” Annie pushed herself along, skimming her fingers under the first corner of the envelope, taking so long that she hadn’t realised Jeff towering over her. Before she knew it, he was tearing it open and unfolding the paper above his head as she jumped and scrambled to reach it.

“Give! Me! That!” Annie squeaked, holding down one of Jeff’s arms as much as she could.

“Dear Mrs Winger…” Jeff laughed a bit, not only at her written name but also at the fact that Annie was still struggling to reach it. He soon stopped as her legs wrapped around his back and her arms clung to his neck. With one swift movement she had the letter in her hands and her feet back on the floor.

“Huh, okay…. Dear Mrs Winger, we are delighted to inform that your,” Annie started to squeal, “RECENT APPLICATION FOR A POSITION IN OUR WASHINGTON DC HEADQUARTERS HAS BEEN ACCEPTED! WE WOULD BE DELIGHTED TO ADD YOU TO OUR TEAM IN THE FORENSICS DEPARTMENT! _Eeeeeee!”_ Annie carried on squealing, the letter shaking around in her hand as she did a slightly happy dance up and down on the spot. Jeff stood still, his eyes bulging at her excitement, a smile creeping over his face.

He gulped… why was he gulping?  
Was it fear of leaving? Of course it wasn’t, he’d wanted to leave almost four years ago after he’d graduated, that _couldn’t_ be the problem. He was happy of course, and proud, and all things imaginable but there was something else deep down inside of him that he couldn’t quite put a pin on. It was almost a sense of selfish envy… it was the part of him who still had fire and ambition, the part of him that would be sure to be doing the exact same thing that Annie was _still_ doing two minutes after reading her letter… it was the part of him that wanted something out of life other than a family and happiness. So yes, he was the tiniest bit jealous of Annie and her success. How could he not be? Most people would… she’s going to be working for the FBI in Washington DC after studying at Greendale Community College of all places.

Who was he again? He was a forty-three-year-old community college teacher who’d faked his degree and cheated his LSATs in order to become a lawyer before being disbarred… married to a young twenty-six-year-old who was about to start a successful career in forensics.

“Jeeefffff! Jeff!” Annie squealed, holding onto Jeff’s arms, her face still full of such thrill and pride.

“Jeff, are you okay?” She stepped back a little, her smile drooping and her hands falling to her sides.

“Yeah… yeah, I’m fine. It’s… you should be really proud.”

“You think?” Annie said, looking back up to him with wide eyes, waiting for some form of approval.

That’s when hit him.  
_Snap out of it, idiot. You’re all she’s got and all she’s had for the past eight years and right now she needs to know how awesome you think she is. Of course your envious, who the heck wouldn’t be? She’s talented and smart and funny and clever and witty and beautiful and all of these things that she should know about. She’s been doing it all on her own for these past few years and right now she just needs somebody to back her up and make her realise what she’s doing is the right thing to be doing and one day she’ll look back and be so glad she did it._

Jeff looked down at her and smiled, cupping her face with his hands, his thumb gently brushing the side of her cheek.

“It’s… incredible. _Not_ that I’m surprised _at_ all. It’s awesome… I’m really proud of you.” Annie smiled back, raising her shoulders a little smugly.

“You are?”

“Of course. Sebastian is too, and I know everyone else will be. I love you.” Annie smiled again, before wrapping Jeff up for a hug, whispering softly against his chest.

“I love you too.”

* * *

 

“I tidied everything away in their usual places and put some of those chocolate things in the fridge, but I’d rather you didn’t give them to him unless he’s whining or whatever because I don’t think they’re particularly healthy and to be honest I doubt you’d even agree with him eating them. I also wrapped up a new book or something so if he _really_ misses me you can distract him with that, _and_ you can video call me whenever you want. Did I also tell you I booked our babysitter for tonight so that you can go out because I’m going to be going out with my old roommate and I didn’t want you to be left out, so make sure you do but don’t get drunk or whatever because you’ll be the one waking up Sebastian at six in the morning, _not_ me.”

Jeff looked over at Annie with a grin on his face, finding it kind of adorable how much she was rambling on in a state of panic at the fact she was going away for _two_ nights to look at a couple of apartments in DC.

“What?” She asked as Jeff looked over at her at a traffic light on the way to the airport.

“Stop worrying about us, we’re going to be fine.”

“What! This is the first time either one of us has actually been _away_ away. It’s a _big_ deal!” Jeff carried on driving, a smile still on his face as he glanced over now and again.

“You don’t think I can handle it?” Annie rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Oh jeez, thanks for all that faith in me.” Jeff scoffed, bracing two hands on the steering wheel.

“I just… okay, fine I’m being paranoid but… can I just say one thing? I don’t know if you’ve noticed but he’s started to cling on the kitchen cabinets and I’m really worried that he’s going to stand up and swing on one or something. Seriously, you’d be impressed by his climbing and walking skills.”

“Err, what do you mean by I’d _be_ impressed? Pretty sure I already know all of this stuff.” Jeff smiled back at her before checking in the reverse mirror to see how said climbing and walking baby was doing in his car seat.

“I’m going to be fine, okay. Please just go and come back and don’t worry about what’s going on here. I should be worried about you… how do I know you’re not sneaking of to DC to go see some secret lover I never knew about?”

“Seriously Jeff?” Annie rolled her eyes again, resting her arm up on the side of the door as the airport drew in.

“Look okay, just think about this… the last time I dropped you off here, there was the possibility that _none_ of this could ever have happened, but now look. I’m dropping you off so you can go and look at a place that we’re going to live in with our _kid_ that _we_ made.”

“Ugh, made, gross.”

“Oh I’m sorry, you didn’t like the process?”

“Err, well, one, I _really_ can’t remember that night and two, it’s _kind_ of weird to think about.”

“All I’m saying is that _most_ people don’t complain.”

“You’re gross… and what are you doing?” Annie asked as they parked up in the airport parking lot.

“Err, coming in?”

“You don’t have to you know.”

“I know I don’t _have_ to, but I _want_ to.”

* * *

 

Even though he was still a little wobbly, Sebastian was now on reigns, toddling about in the airport before Annie slipped away through security.

“I’m going to miss you.” Annie smiled sweetly up at Jeff who she thought looked rather dashing. His hair had been trimmed back recently leaving it a nice short and spikey style that she’d always preferred on him, his eyes popping against the light blue shade of his scrunched up shirt and jeans.

“’Gonna miss you too.” He said before pulling up for a short kiss, his hands still in grip with Sebastian’s reigns as they curved around her back.

“Okay I really need to go, let me just say goodbye and then I _need_ to go!” Annie stood back down before scooping Sebastian off of his feet and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“Are you going to be a good boy for daddy?” Sebastian nodded before tucking his head onto Annie’s shoulder. She rested her cheek on his own, soaking up the adorableness that was her own son before pulling in Jeff for a group hug. They stood there in the middle of a bustling airport with a not a care in the world of what they looked like. Most onlookers would probably be expecting Annie to be going away for weeks at the tight embrace they were having. Jeff took over with Sebastian, giving Annie another quick peck on the lips before she wondered off.

“Wave to mommy.” Sebastian did indeed wave back to her as she walked away into the queues, before being propped up on his dad’s shoulders and whisked away back outside. Annie could see them leave, biting down her smiling lip as she watched her goofy 6ft 4” husband dash away with a baby on neck. She giggled before being ushered forward by a security woman.

 _ANNIE:_ Big goofy idiot – love you x

 _JEFF:_ I love you way more big boobs x

 _ANNIE:_ Thanks, really appreciate it!

 _JEFF:_  I know there are other big things you appreciate 8====>

 _ANNIE:_ GROSS! You’re gross.

 _JEFF:_  Yeah but you just said you love me so it must mean something x

 _ANNIE:_ Sure… ;)

 _JEFF:_ A wink after me sending you an emoti-penis, that has to mean something!

 _ANNIE:_ ( . Y . )

 _JEFF:_ You’re killing me.

 _ANNIE:_ {+}+}

 _ANNIE:_ The best I could do to make abs.

 _JEFF:_  Very artistic.

 _ANNIE:_  Yup x

 _JEFF:_  I think Seb has asked for you like 10 times already and neither of us have left the airport *plane emoticon*

 _ANNIE:_ Aw, give him a kiss and a cuddle from me x

 _JEFF:_ Done x

 _ANNIE:_ Miss you already :(

 _JEFF:_ Miss you more x

 _ANNIE:_ Ugh, what are we?! x

 _JEFF:_ Love struck teeny boppers for life x

 _ANNIE:_ Aw… LSTB for life? No actually that sounds like an STD.

 _JEFF:_ And you say I’m gross.

 _ANNIE:_ It’s because you are!!

 _JEFF:_ Thanks :-/

 _ANNIE:_ You’re gross but you look very nice, especially today, I like your hair x

 _JEFF:_ You look very nice, especially today, I like your boobs x

 _ANNIE:_ Seriously?

 _JEFF:_ (    .   Y    .   )

 _JEFF:_  More realistic proportions.

 _ANNIE:_ *eye roll emoticon*

 _JEFF:_  Although I do like your boobs, I like all of you. Every tiny bit… but your boobs don’t count because they’re not exactly tiny.

 _ANNIE:_ Seriously!? I’ll never get past that will I… I mean, there’s a monkey out there called ANNIE’S BOOBS!

 _JEFF:_ Nope x

 _JEFF:_  Should probably go now, someone’s getting cranky in his car seat.

 _ANNIE:_ Sorry I bore you so much ;)

 _JEFF:_  Ha ha

 _ANNIE:_ I love you and miss you already. I’ll call you when I land but I’ll probably be too busy with my secret lover x

 _JEFF:_ I knew it!

 _ANNIE:_ ;) Love you x

 _JEFF:_  Bye gorgeous x Love you too x

* * *

 

Whilst Annie was away, and whilst Sebastian was taking a nap, Jeff was scrolling who is phone when he spontaneously decided to sign himself up to a job site that sent out weekly email subscriptions of jobs and openings nearby. He’d spoken to Frankie, the Dean and even the school board about teaching locally via video call and it was all clear how it was going to work (he’d have a teaching assistant in class at Greendale to help with things like papers and general questions but would have to actually come back to school for final exams and the end of semester), but the thought of possibly branching out to something else also scratched at the back of his mind.

Like he’d said to Britta, there would always still be part of him that wants to go back into law, but he decided that it was only a _small_ part of him that wanted it. He wouldn’t mind consulting and doing smaller jobs but whether he was up for getting back into that world, was a different question altogether. He also wasn’t sure how Annie would feel about it either, seeing as she seemed pretty confident in his teaching abilities now.

So he set the preferences to consultancy and teaching in the area of Washington DC closest to the apartments Annie was looking at, and clicked save, thinking not much more of it. It was just in case, because… well, you never know unless you try.

* * *

 

“You okay?” Jeff asked as he held his phone up to video call Annie. It was about one AM where she was, but neither one of them really cared; they just needed to see each other after _one_ long day.

“Yup. I had a few drinks with my old roomie, she’s still out though… it’s weird, we never really that friendly with each other but oh well. I’m only really staying here because she let me stay for free.” Annie spoke, snuggled up in her old single bed, feeling slightly odd and having a slight sense of déjà vu.

“Well so you know, I did take advantage of the baby sitter.”

“Ew! That sounds gross. Are you sure _you’re_ not the one with the secret lover?”

“Ha ha… anyway I just went to the gym, and then I went and got some food and that’s it. It was… boring, and weird too. I kept going to say something then I’d realise you weren’t there beside me… yeah, pretty sad.”

“Aww, you miss me _that_ much?! Well you’ll be glad to know I got chatted up at the bar.” Annie wiggled her eyebrows.

“What?! The secret lover story is back on _you_ now. How come?”

“What do you mean by ‘how come’? Do you not think I’m _worthy?”_ Annie smirked.

“Err no, I _know_ you are _definitely_ worthy but come on…” Jeff said, waving his ring finger around. Annie nodded in agreement.

“He was really weird though so I just politely declined his offer for a drink and just turned away. Very odd.”

“You should have just gone…” Jeff covered half of his face with his hand, his ring on full display. Annie laughed before pressing her cheek down into her pillow, her eyes drooping slightly.

“Is he okay?” Annie finally asked, making Jeff smile because he was expecting it too.

“He’s fine… although he did keep asking for you when I put him down to sleep. Very cute.” Annie smiled some more, and although Jeff wanted so badly to just stay connected the whole night, he could see how exhausted she looked.

“You should get some sleep. Text me tomorrow when you’ve taken a look round. Love you.”

“Night.”

* * *

 

 _ANNIE:_ Okay so the one I already liked the look of isn’t a proper house and it might suck living in a city apartment… but for now, I think it’s kind of perfect. It’s ten minutes from work and we could literally say we live a walk away from the White House. No. joke.

 _JEFF:_  They may as well move you in now then - #AnnieForPresident

 _ANNIE:_ Abed told me about that ;)

 _JEFF:_ Err, what? That conversation was ages ago and strictly private. He swore he’d never tell anyone!

 _ANNIE:_ I know! He told me that but he said he thought I should know that’s what you thought of me :)

 _JEFF:_ Tut tut Abed.

 _ANNIE:_  Anyway… I sent you some photos in an email and if you trust me enough I think we should say yes to this because they said it’s really good value and lots of people want it… and we’re probably not the best people anyway seeing as we have a 1 year old :-/

 _JEFF:_ 11 months actually and just go for it. I know the one you mean and this is for you so go ahead, please x

 _ANNIE:_  Really?

 _JEFF:_ You’ve seen it with your own eyes and I trust them… well actually I trust your brain/heart, I can never be too careful with those eyes of yours.

 _ANNIE:_ Hehehe :) Okay…

 _JEFF:_  DC here we come! X

 _ANNIE:_  Eeep! X


	7. 2017 - September

**September**

“So… we’re seriously doing this?” Annie said as she clipped herself into the front passenger seat of Jeff’s Lexus. Two of the back seats were occupied with boxes, the other being occupied by Sebastian and his car seat.

“Err, if you’re having second thoughts you probably should have told me about…” Jeff flicked his wrist up to check the time on his watch, “...ten hours ago? Before you know, a truck came and picked up all of our stuff and started driving to DC. No biggie.” Annie rolled her eyes as Jeff flicked on the engine and got ready for the trip ahead.

“But you’re right. Are we seriously about to go on a, what is it? Twenty-five-hour road trip? With a two-weeks-away-from-being-one-year-old in the back seat? _God…_ ” Jeff laughed a little, realising how crazy it sounded out loud.

“You’re the one who _insisted_ you keep your car! You could have kept it here… or you know…” Annie mouthed the last part of her sentence, “ _got rid of it…?”_ Jeff was rolling his eyes now too, knowing that was not anywhere near being part of the question.

“Sebastian, you ready?” Jeff called out to the back of the car, checking in the rear mirror for his reaction.

“No.” Sebastian mumbled, kicking his legs against his seat.

“Oh okay then well I guess we’ll just err… rain check?” Jeff joked, looking over to Annie with a grin.

“It’s going to be _fine._ We’re stopping at motels; I’ve planned a few things on route… it will be fun. So, come on!” Annie said, gesturing her hands towards the road.

They’d already said their goodbyes to Britta and Co, causing a few tears here and there specifically from Annie who probably wouldn’t be returning back to Greendale as regularly as Jeff. They’d also given one last farewell to their little bungalow that had been home to the beginnings of many different stories for Jeff and Annie, whether that be as a couple or as a family. It had been home for the past two years and it was sad to see it go, but both of them were feeling rather optimistic for the future.

“You ready?” Jeff asked, clasping Annie’s hand in his. She bit her lip whilst looking over to the little house, all the curtains closed, the lights switched out and the outside welcome mat all packed away. She inhaled and sighed a little before closing her eyes and focusing back onto the road ahead.

“Yeah, I’m ready.”

“Let’s do this thing.” Annie rolled her eyes at his cheesiness before Jeff finally pulled away, beginning the start of a very long journey… but that basically summed Jeff and Annie up right; a very long journey, indeed.

* * *

 

 _BRITTA:_ Where are you guys?

 _JEFF:_  Somewhere in ‘Merica.

 _BRITTA:_ Very specific, I take it as you’re lost?

 _ANNIE:_  No, we’re half way now… last night’s motel was awful.

 _BRITTA:_ Bed bugs?

 _ANNIE:_ I wish *monkey covering ears emoticon*

 _BRITTA:_  Ohhh.

 _JEFF:_ Also, all they served was carbs. Like, literally, it was just carbs on a plate.

 _ANNIE:_ Also I’m pretty sure Sebastian is sick so it’s going great :D

 _BRITTA:_ You know there’s a thing called a plane, right? *plane emoticon*

 _ANNIE:_ I didn’t know that. Jeez, if I’d just left our car in Colorado we could be in DC right now! Why didn’t I think of that JEFF?!

 _JEFF:_  :-V As you can probably tell, Annie is in a great mood to be spending a whole day in a car with.

 _ANNIE:_ *plane emoticon*

 _BRITTA:_ Just don’t expect me to come rescue you when you’re lost in the middle of nowhere.

 _JEFF:_ We’re fine… until Annie starts driving.

 _BRITTA:_  Either way, I can’t help you, Darren’s over for the week.

 _ANNIE:_ Aww… *love heart emoticon*

 _JEFF:_ Ugh, okay, I’m leaving this conversation now.

* * *

 

“And here we are… at number 701. Dah-dah!” Annie said as she pushed the door open to their new apartment. Jeff didn’t really know what to expect but was pleasantly surprised by the clean and modern layout to the place. He nodded as he wondered around, keeping an eye on a rather tired Sebastian who was toddling around his new home.

“So…. what do you think? I know it’s not per-.” Annie was cut off as Jeff’s hands cupped around her face and his lips closed the space between them.

“It’s perfect, don’t worry about it. It’s… small, I’ll admit… but, when we can we’ll find somewhere bigger and it will all work out, okay?” Annie nodded and smiled, dashing off to stop Sebastian from pulling out drawer.

“So… is this our room?” Jeff said, pointing into the larger bedroom with the tiny balcony window. Annie nodded and smiled, picking up Sebastian and joining Jeff to look at the view. It was only overlooking the hustle and bustle of the local area, a tiny fountain below and a big tree covering the view of some other buildings but either way, it did feel pretty awesome to be living in their own city building… and like Annie said, they were genuinely a few steps away from the White House.

“Beats Greendale, huh?” Jeff said, resting his arms on the cool barrier of the balcony. Annie being cautious of the wobbly toddler in her own.

“You think?”

“Yeah…” Jeff answered, his eyes drifting off to take in the view, before his mouth stretched open in a yawn.

“I think we should probably make use of that bed.” Annie said, turning around to point to the bed behind them, a plain mattress looking rather inviting after the five-day trek across country. Annie caught Jeff laugh and wiggle his eyebrows, before following her back inside.

“Not like that, you weirdo.”

* * *

Nearing the end of September, everything was pretty perfect in their lives. Although they both missed their lives back at Greendale, it was refreshing to finally take a step back and start something new together again. They had a new routine too, balancing their time together around Annie’s schedule and Jeff’s ‘virtual’ classes.

They’d usually wake up pretty early, sometimes catching the time just before Sebastian (who was now officially one years old) awoke to share a coffee on their tiny balcony as the city awoke around them, before heading off with Sebastian in tow for a family work out session. There was a swimming class at the nearby gym that Sebastian was now taking, leaving Jeff and Annie to run side-by-side for half an hour or so before Annie parted ways and headed to the FBI headquarters. Sometimes when they timed it right, Jeff could be free for a quick thirty-minute lunch with Annie at ‘their restaurant’ near her work (it was an Italian bistro place – Annie’s favourite kind of food that Jeff had to admit he liked too).

On the weekends they liked to just chill out and do fun things with Sebastian; if they stayed in, Jeff would make up stupid games and pray that Annie wasn’t taking any photographic evidence of his goofiness, and if they stayed out, he’d cave and well… just be as goofy as he was in private.

One of Annie’s favourite DC memories of them altogether so far was one weekend at a local park. They spent most of the day there, a picnic blanket and snacks, the pushchair set up for Sebastian to have an outdoor nap whilst Jeff and Annie read some books and caught up on things (mainly each other – ignoring the few onlookers as Annie rolled around, latched onto Jeff). When Sebastian woke back up, they chased him around the park, Annie jumping up on to Jeff’s back to make him giggle some more. Even when Jeff’s neck was kind of killing from the weight that he was ‘supposed to handle’, he carried on enjoying the moment because it was what they worked so hard for.

Sebastian crawled around on his own for a while, their parents keeping a strong eye on him as he picked at a few stray flowers in the grass that was slowly fading in colour as Autumn came in full swing. Jeff was reading a new law book he’d picked up just in case he ever needed some new class content, laying on his stomach with his elbows propped up. Annie grabbed her phone from her bag, switching it to the camera before laying on top of him and swooping her hands up between his face and his book. Jeff sighed making for a rather unflattering photo, but it became Annie’s new phone lock screen because she liked the memory so much.

They finished the day cosying up on the couch with a glass of white wine each that Annie had insisted on buying even at its dirt cheap price from the local convenience store. Annie lay in the crook of Jeff’s arm, making for his own picture perfect moment. They were all moments that they clung on to as an example of what made them great at being an ‘us’.


	8. 2017 - December

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A shorter chapter with some news for Jeff (and Annie)... stick with me here guys!)

**November**

Jeff and Annie were now quite close friends with their neighbors, Leanne and Joseph, in the apartment next door. They were in their mid-thirties (Jeff was always curious as to what Annie thought about having older friends whilst having an older partner but he never mentioned it to avoid an awkward conversation) and the wife Leanne had good experience with kids from working at a day-care centre when she was still at college, so they often looked after Sebastian so Jeff and Annie could pop out in the evenings, often going out to a bar with another pair of their new DC friends from Annie’s work (Katie and Kevin – Annie and Jeff used ‘KK’ for short when they weren’t around – it was Annie’s time to be curious about Jeff having younger friends, but once again, she also never mentioned it).

After one late night, stumbling back into the apartment together, Jeff literally throwing himself at Annie once they stepped in the door, they both woke up feeling rather groggy, realising that Sebastian had stayed next door the whole evening. Annie dashed over to Leanne’s to pick him up, promising they’d take them both out for dinner for how helpful they’d been, Jeff took out his phone whilst swigging back a strong black coffee.

The first email to pop up was one he definitely wasn’t expecting. On a whim the previous month, Jeff had responded to one of the job openings from the site he’d signed up to, it was for a night-school position at a local college, one that was for people studying the basics of law… Jeff had only done it because it was nearby, so he definitely wasn’t expecting a response saying they’d like him to come in for an interview. He worked at Greendale… he wasn’t even a fully qualified teacher but somehow he’d been asked in.

He left it a couple of days until speaking to Annie, which was definitely a surprise to her when he started sounding serious over a lunch date.

“So… I wanted to… talk.” Jeff said, setting his glass of water down in the table. Annie’s eyebrows raised, her mouth curving into an ‘O’ shape out of curiosity.

“Did I… are we? Okay?” Annie said, double checking that she was in the all clear. Jeff jolted forward, scrunching up his eyebrows in confusion.

“What? No, we’re fine, don’t worry about it. I just err… well, a while ago, I kind of signed up to this mailing list about jobs around here and I kind of… _maybe_ , applied for one and I’ve kinda’ been asked to go in for some kind of meeting… so I just wanted to check in with you first to see what you thought?” Annie’s mouth was still in an ‘O’ shape as he explained to her, changing into an understanding frown and back up into a small smile.

“Is it… teaching?” Annie asked hesitantly.

“Yeah, which I know, is a big surprise _but_ the thing is… it’s at night school and that’s why I wanted to ask you.” Annie’s ‘O’ mouth was back as she thought about it, nodding away a little.

“No, no, I think… that would be really great and you could still cling onto your Greendale classes, right? So… every night?”

“Yeah, but err, no, it’s err, I think they said two to three nights a week. I might hate the place and let’s be honest they probably won’t want me when they realise… I’m not a real teacher.” Annie rolled her eyes and sighed, lifting up her glass in one hand.

“Well, you don’t know that. We should make a toast to you! I’m proud, seriously. You should go for it.” Jeff clenched down on his teeth with a smile, tapping his glass on hers before taking a large gulp back.

* * *

 

 _To:_ Francesca Dart  
_From:_ Me (Jeff Winger)  
_Subject:_ Greendale Reference

_ Content: _

Hi Frankie,

Hope all is good in the land of Greendale. I sort of need a favour – is there any chance I could get a reference of some sort about my class/teaching? Hoping to start doing a couple of classes at a night school here in DC.

Doesn’t need to be anything too fancy but would help me out a lot.

Thanks,  
Jeff Winger  
Fundamentals of Law at Greendale Community College  
DON’T PRINT THIS – SAVE THE TREES!

* * *

 

 _To:_ Me (Jeff Winger)  
_From:_ Francesca Dart  
_Subject:_ RE: Greendale Reference

_ Content: _

That’s no problem at all Jeff. I’ve written a couple of paragraphs for you to have a look over. I ran it passed Craig too (terrible mistake – you know how he is with change) just to double check as well as HR who were happy with what I had to say. I think it’s a great idea and I wish you luck with it – can we still count on you carrying on with Greendale? Your students are still enjoying what you have to teach.

“I am delighted to recommend Mr Winger for a placement. He has been a great addition to Greendale Community College from the outset not only as a student but also as a teacher of Fundamentals of Law for all levels of students.

After starting a family and moving onto pastures new, Jeff has continued with his dedication to Greendale by teaching remotely; setting a new example for online teaching for our students. He has excellent skills in the field and has continued to share his experiences and build upon the future of young minds. He was also part of the Save Greendale Committee in which he formed along with fellow professors and other students from across the campus; improving the school in several different aspects and areas that needed attention.

Overall Mr Winger would be an excellent addition to your team and we would be extremely proud to see him move on towards larger scale projects and classes.

Sincerely,  
Francesca Dart  
School Administrator at Greendale Community College”

Let me know if there is anything else I can do. I hope you’re both doing well in DC – we’ll be seeing you soon though I expect?

Good luck,  
Frankie Dart  
School Administrator at Greendale Community College  
DON’T PRINT THIS – SAVE THE TREES!  
 _Please do not CC/BCC this email address with the following Greendale account: debra.chambers(at)greendalecommunitycollege(dot)com_

* * *

 

 _To:_ Francesca Dart  
_From:_ Me (Jeff Winger)  
_Subject:_ RE: RE: Greendale Reference

_ Content: _

Hi Frankie,

This is great, honestly, thank you. It’s a big help. But don’t worry – I’m still clinging onto Greendale. It’s only night school for now, which I think is all I can manage… hardly even expected to get a response to my application. Will let you know how it goes, and of course – I’ll be coming back for the new year.

Thanks again, I really appreciate it.

Jeff Winger  
Fundamentals of Law at Greendale Community College  
DON’T PRINT THIS – SAVE THE TREES!


	9. 2017 - December

**December**

“Ooooh, look at you wearing a tie to work.” Annie cooed as Jeff fidgeted with it in the mirror before his first night school class. Jeff shrugged and left it in a loose knot, unsure whether it was even necessary. The college was definitely more upper-class than Greendale, but whether a tie was required, he wasn’t sure. Annie rolled her eyes before leaning up on her tippy toes, undoing the knot before lifting up his shirt collar and evening it out. Jeff peered down at her hands, catching her concentrated eyes as she finished up, pulling down his collar and patting the tips down in completion.

“There.” Annie smiled before stepping back down again, pretty confident in her tie tying abilities.

“Thanks.” Jeff smiled back before guiding her closer, his hands around her back, his neck leaning forward slightly to meet their lips in the middle. He had to admit, seeing her fumble around with his tie whilst trying to stand tall was kind of adorable and was definitely in warrant of a proper kiss goodbye.

As Jeff stepped outside the door, Annie gave him a quick peck on the cheek before waving him off with a smile, shutting the door behind her and sighing. In all honesty, she was kind of relieved to have a few moments alone, even if she did love having Jeff’s company most of the time. She spent most of the evening watching trashy TV, painting her nails and sipping on a glass of red wine. Her phone buzzed a few hours after Jeff had left, just a quick message to check in…

 _JEFF:_ Will be home in about 30 – all good? X

 _ANNIE:_  Fancy Chinese? And yup x

 _JEFF:_ Sounds good *sushi emoticon* x

 _ANNIE:_  Yummmmm! X

* * *

 

Even though neither Jeff nor Annie celebrated the religious side of Christmas, they still added a few festive elements to the apartment as well wrapping up a couple of gifts for each other. Jeff usually went for something more practical for Annie… their first Christmas together he bought her a new pair of expensive running trainers because hers only cost her $20 from a supermarket and he knew she was in need of some for their morning run. Annie of course usually went down the sentimental route; her first gift being a framed picture of them both from their first date. It was a small gift compared to Jeff’s but after a few birthdays and random present giving opportunities, he taken to her heart-warming style.

For this ‘Hannukah-mas’, Jeff had picked her up a new bottle of her favourite perfume along with a silver necklace that had three small discs engraved with ‘J’, ‘A’, and ‘S’… the note he’d written along with it was definitely a sign her gift giving skills were rubbing off on him…

_For Mi’lady – Let me know if you’re ever ready to add another letter to the list. Yes, I know, I did just admit I would be totally fine with that… but I know they’d have a great mom, and that’s all that matters. I love you, and I always have done, even if I never admitted it – Jeff x_

Annie looked up from her lap, her watery eyes landing on Jeff who was trying to hide his smile on the opposite arm chair. Annie mouthed ‘Thank you’ to him before brushing her hair to one side and clasping it behind her neck. Jeff smiled back, taking a mental picture of the sight that was in front of his eyes, before being passed his neatly wrapped present over from Annie.

“Now mine doesn’t seem as special…” Annie rolled her eyes before pulling Sebastian up onto the couch with her and sharing a snuggle as Jeff slowly peeled back the paper. Underneath was a small hardback book, a picture of the three of them on the cover. Jeff smiled a bit before flicking through the pages, realising that it was a compilation of the pictures they’d taken on their road trip to DC. He laughed under his breath at a couple of them, a lump forming in his throat.

“What are you talking about? This blows mine out of the water.”

Annie rolled her eyes and smiled, before biting down her lip.

“Glad you like it.”

“I love it.”


	10. 2018 - March

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Super proud of this chapter actually... I hope it reads as well as I thought? Also... see what I meant about us ~needing~ the previous chapters? Contrast people... contrast!)

**March**

Jeff’s work load at the nearby college had increased, meaning he was working at least four evenings a week and a Saturday night every now and again, causing things to shift between their schedules. Annie usually got in around 6.30pm; hanging up her grey coat behind the door, putting her purse on the kitchen counter, letting her hair fall down from any style it was currently clipped up in, unstrapping her heels or slipping off her flats and pecking Jeff on the temple as he sat at his desk preparing a few papers before disappearing off into the bathroom for a shower. Jeff would sometimes slip out slightly earlier depending on what he had planned or whether there were any meetings he had to attend, often poking his head into the shower, to let her know she was off. Sebastian was usually asleep by now but Jeff’s surprise exits often cut her alone time down by a few minutes… having to towel off quickly before he started crying or calling out for water.

On a good day, Jeff was usually home at 11:30pm, meaning they could share a quick supper together before slipping into bed and starting all over again… but the more classes and time he took out for work, the later the nights got, sometimes meaning they only ever spent time together over breakfast and the quick few seconds Jeff got a peak at Annie in the shower. Annie had gotten used to eating alone, and having Jeff wonder why she hadn’t cooked her favourite salmon dish in a while – she’d usually had it the night before when he’d been working late.

It also didn’t help that during all of this Sebastian hadn’t been well, usually leaving Jeff in an irritated mood after a whole day of taking care of him in-between his classes back to Greendale. It _also_ didn’t help that Sebastian was getting so used to only really depending on Jeff that he was now struggling to fall asleep properly without the help of his dad… sometimes Annie even had to ring Jeff during one of his classes just so Sebastian could hear his voice.  

Oh and another slight tension builder was the fact that Annie had heard from her dad and Jeff had no idea of the fact. It wasn’t much, just a short “Hi Annie, it’s your father here – I know you’ve been getting my cheques okay, but I just wanted to see how you are. It’s been a while.” in a voice message, and of course Annie could have mentioned it, but with all the tension that was already there, it didn’t exactly seem to be the right thing to bring up.

What made it worse was that it was almost a wake-up call for Annie. It was a reminder that her mother was also still out there. She’d had her phone number in her contacts list for several _years_ in fact, and it wasn’t as if she hadn’t seen her at _all_ since she’d started Greendale (a couple of brief encounters at family parties she’d been invited to by her grandparents and aunts), but it wasn’t as if she was in constant contact… and why should she be? Her mother had no interest in her whatsoever… she didn’t even once ask to come and visit her one and only _grandchild_ once she’d heard the news from Annie’s brother. Plus, what would she think about the fact that she was already married (more specifically to a nearing-forty-five-year-old man) and living in a city apartment in Washington DC? She wouldn’t be impressed or proud… to be honest, Annie had no idea how she would react.

And that’s what was killing her.  
It was like Jeff and his father – she just wanted to know…. and the worse things got with Jeff… the more she _needed_ to know.

* * *

 

Jeff couldn’t really ignore what was going on either. Ridiculously, he didn’t _really_ know what _was_ going on, but it was definitely something. It was the way Annie replied to messages…

 _ANNIE:_ Lunch date?

 _JEFF:_ Have a Greendale lesson at the same time today. Sorry x

 _ANNIE:_ Fine

…the way she just let him get on with anything without a fuss and the way she reacted to what was basically, _pity_ sex. Often they’d just end up going at it for no particular reason… there wasn’t really even any passion involved… no attempt to try and conceal what they were doing. It usually didn’t last very long, ending with Annie fast asleep facing the opposite way, her vest usually not even leaving her body. The following mornings they wouldn’t even mention it… Annie just acted like nothing had ever happened, making Jeff feel like he should probably do the same.

 It hurt him the most when she was so obviously fed up (more specifically, with him) but tried her very best to deny it. The worst example was one weekend when she decided she wanted a day alone (mostly in an attempt to get Sebastian to ‘like her again’ – it was all rather ridiculous). She packed up her bag, kicked out the pushchair and got Sebastian ready as Jeff typed away at his computer.

“Can I take your car?” Annie asked from the front door, knowing the answer could only be yes but asking just in case. Jeff turned and nodded, throwing her the keys from his pocket.

“Where you going?” Annie raised her eyebrows slightly at his interest, watching him as he stood up and stretched.

“Just out… wanted to go out with him on my own.” Jeff nodded slowly as she started to open the door, his arm shooting out over her to hold it open. As she stood outside the apartment, Jeff looked at her and almost let out a laugh at her stubbornness.

“Can I ask you something?” Jeff finally decided to start _the_ conversation.

“Mhmmm?” She hummed questioningly.

“What’s going on?” Her eyebrows twitched at the question, her heart beat fluttering slightly.

“What do you mean? Nothing.”

This time he did let out a slight laugh, shifting on the spot slightly, his hand still on the doorframe.

“Fine.”

“Good.” She said before turning and starting to walk off. Jeff shook his head, slowly closing the door before calling down behind her, ignoring the fact that anyone could hear them down the corridor.

“Have fun on your own!”

“Was planning on it!”

* * *

 

Ten minutes later though, she was upstairs again, the pushchair being held in one hand, Sebastian in the other. She walked in without saying anything, passed him over to Jeff and walked out, leaving the pushchair behind. Jeff was left wide eyed, his mouth dropped open in shock, as he watched the door practically _slam_ shut. He looked at Sebastian and back to the door before speaking in a quiet voice to his son.

“Your mom’s gone crazy.”

Well if crazy is defined by a toddler screaming because he doesn’t want to go in his car seat without his dad, that is. About five minutes earlier in the parking lot, Annie was almost about to have a nervous breakdown… she felt like sliding down the car and just sitting there; the soundtrack of her life being a screaming baby crying out, “DADDY! WAAAHHH!”


	11. 2018 - April

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (It's a long one! (That's what she said))

**April**

The tension in the Winger family had genuinely now been going on for _months._ There were never any fights or major disagreements or any falling outs that couldn’t be resolved, but there was always that underlying feeling of tension underneath everything and anything they did. The weight and thought of visiting her mother was still hanging on Annie’s shoulders, and Jeff’s night school classes were coming in thicker and faster.

Jeff came home one night at around midnight, pretty shattered after an evening of work, slipping into bed as quickly as he could. He lay on his side, facing Annie who was already fast asleep by now, her back facing him. Jeff rested his head in his hand, his elbow propped up against the pillow. All he could hear was the dying night time traffic and the slow murmur of Annie’s breathing as slept. Although, she wasn’t really sleeping. She knew he’d slipped into bed and now all she was thinking was whether he was going to say goodnight or not. She tried not to think about it too much, knowing deep down that she could probably resolve this once and for all, but now it had gotten to the stage where it was more of a game than it was a real sense of anything.

He did eventually curl up to her side, pressing a kiss into her neck, and arm clasping around her, his fingers slipping through her own before he drifted off, but it wasn't until she, herself had fallen asleep, leaving her without the knowledge he’d tried _something._

* * *

The next morning was the last day of work for Annie before she was having a week off, so she’d at least expected Jeff to get off early from his night classes to start things off the right way, but sadly on her way home her phone had buzzed in her pocket, letting her know that she perhaps expected a bit too much.

 _JEFF:_  I have to go as soon as you get home – there’s a meeting I have to go to for all the night school professors. You can do bedtime for Seb x

 _ANNIE:_  Sure!

So that’s exactly what she did. Sebastian’s ‘daddy phase’ had luckily been exactly that, a phase, so tucking him down for bed was a little bit easier nowadays. He was even starting to give her a kiss goodnight before she clicked his door shut and got busy in the kitchen for dinner. Time flew though, leaving Annie drumming her head against the back of the couch in anticipation for Jeff’s arrival back home. She checked her phone every ten minutes as the time crept towards ten-thirty… and then eleven. Annie didn’t know whether she was being dramatic, but she could genuinely feel her body start to shake slightly and her heartbeat start to race at the fact that Jeff _still_ wasn’t home even when it was pretty much a sure plan that this was meant to be a week of them spending time together and maybe, just _maybe,_ attempting to resolve what was going on.

She bit her lip and flicked her phone on, quickly heading to her browser and checking flight details. She sat up on the couch and bit down on a finger nail, glancing to the door and back to her screen. Her mom’s house was just outside of Colorado, towards Kansas… there was a late flight at midnight meaning she’d get there in the early morning if she made her way now. Annie steadied her breathing. This was something she _needed_ to do, right? Maybe getting away from Jeff would clear her mind… and maybe finding out whether there was anything left with her mother would too. It was dramatic, she knew that, but maybe she was just living in the moment again… because she was still young, and she could still do things like that, right?

* * *

 

“Hey Annie, is everything okay?” Leanne said, poking her head out the door as Annie quietly knocked. Annie nodded a little sheepishly before speaking up.

“Yeah, everything’s fine… I, err… well, Jeff’s not back yet and I just… is there any chance you could maybe, stay over for like twenty minutes? I just err, I have to go out and Sebastian’s fast asleep, I just err… I have to go and do something. I’ve left Jeff a note and I know he’ll be back soon.” Annie’s eyes had grown wider in a hope that she could get Leanne to oblige… it worked, whether it was her eyes influencing her decision or not.

* * *

 

Jeff popped his key in the apartment door, scrunching up his eyebrows questioningly as it pushed open unlocked already. The living room lights were on which was slightly unusual for this time of night, especially when Annie was already tucked up in bed. Things got even more unusual when he noticed Leanne on her laptop in the arm chair…

“Hi… Leanne… is, err, Annie…?” Jeff pointed a finger around the room before moving it back to scratch under his chin. Leanne stood up, shutting her laptop down and clasping it under her arm.

“Hi Jeff, err, no… actually. She came by and asked if I could just watch over until you were home because she said you wouldn’t be long. Err, she left you a note somewhere… I think in the kitchen? She didn’t really tell me much but it was no problem at all.” Jeff nodded slowly, dropping his briefcase down on the floor.

“Cool… well, err, I’ll let you know when she’s back and thanks. We’re seeing you on… Wednesday right, for lunch?”

“You will be, indeed. Let me know how Annie gets on. Goodnight.” Jeff carried on nodding before giving Leanne a one armed hug out of politeness, shaking off his coat once she’d left. He scoured the room, his eyes landing on a piece of paper and purple pen on the kitchen counter. Jeff gulped before reading every single purple-inked letter.

* * *

 

_Dear Jeff,_

_Please don’t worry – I’m fine.  
I haven’t told you and to be honest I don’t know why I haven’t, but my dad got in touch with me recently (don’t worry, he’s fine too) and for some reason it got me thinking about my mom. It’s silly really and I guess I’ve probably handled it badly but I just need to see whether there’s ever going to be a chance of her being my mom again... which I highly doubt because I’ve been living without her for the past… ten years of my life? _

_So, yes, that’s where I am (or going, depending on when you read this – my flight details are on the back). I don’t know how long I’m going to be but I suppose I won’t be longer than a week seeing as it’s my week off from work. I know we were planning on taking Sebastian out together but… I really need to do this. It’s one of those things that I need to do on my own and for some reason I decided to do it now rather than later._

_I know things haven’t been perfect between us recently but I think this could be why. We’re both living two separate lives and just trying to mould them together because that’s what families do right? You’re working late most evenings and I’m working all day, every day so we just keeping missing any time between ‘us’. And to be honest, I hate it, and I know you do too… but whatever happens this week, I want you to know that I am really glad that I’m part of your life and that you’re part of mine. Nothing’s wrong and I don’t want you to think in ANY way whatsoever that I’m actually off to my secret lover or to be with that good looking guy who has a gun on his hip and skip queues with his little badge (remember that?) …_

_To be honest, I’m probably going to need you more than ever when I get back… because if things still suck… well, then you’re literally the only person in the world who actually cares about little ol’ Annie ~~Edison~~ Winger ;) Actually, that’s not true – your own mom cares and I really appreciate that. _

_So yes, I have only packed a couple of days’ worth of things into a bag, and I know I’ve left you with Sebastian but… again, I need to do this._

_I love you, even if I do kind of miss seeing your big goofy (and yes, still extremely attractive) face every day._

_Annie xx_

_P.S Sorry the handwriting got scrappy – I’m kind of in a rush! Also don’t worry, your car keys are in your drawer._

* * *

 

Jeff laughed at a few of her comments, a sad smile creeping across his face as he clenched down his jaw. His knee wobbling up and down on the kitchen stool.

 _JEFF:_ You’re amazing and I love you x

 _ANNIE:_ *heart emoticon*

 _JEFF:_  Go do what you’ve gotta’ do. I’m proud of you… and who cares if she’s still the same. You deserve way better Annie. I promise.

 _ANNIE:_ Thank you x

* * *

 

The walk up the drive to her mom’s house felt like it lasted a few decades. _I can do this… Jeff’s right, I deserve better if she’s still the same pushy parent that she used to be. I work for the freaking FBI and I’m a mother to the most ridiculous child you’ve ever met. I’m married to a teacher who has been my god damn rock for the past few years… yeah, I can do this. I’m Annie Edison and I’m a wife, and I’m a mom, and I work for the FBI, and I’m not eighteen anymore, I’m twenty-seven and I can do this._

“Annie.” She gulped at the sight of her. Her hair shorter than she remembered, the length curling and framing around her face in a round bob style, her skin more wrinkled than it used to be and her clothes fit for her age. Felicity pulled Annie in for an awkward hug, Annie taking another gulp as she soaked in the scent that threw her right back to her childhood.

“Mother.” Annie had only really used the name ‘mom’ during her teenage years as it was an easier way to call out her name during a mood swing of a tantrum. She nodded and sighed slightly, slipping her bag off of her shoulder before dropping it to the floor. Annie followed Felicity through into the kitchen, accepting the offer of a coffee just as an excuse to say something in the rather awkward silence. Annie wondered around a bit, taking in some of the house… it was new to her, her old home long gone, so nothing was really familiar. Only a couple of the picture frames framed familiar faces, the rest being new friends that Annie had no knowledge of… in fact, out of what Annie could see, there wasn’t a single picture of her in any of them. She spotted her brother in a couple, but that was it.

It was difficult as on the one hand, Annie had every right to be hostile to her mom. She’d given up on Annie at a time she needed it the most all because her plans hadn’t gone exactly the way she’d, well, _planned._ She’d ditched her and ignored her and left her alone as soon as she’d stepped foot in Greendale. Her parents were separated, and her dad had only just started sending cheques at the end of the second year after insisting it wasn’t a hassle and that she wasn’t depending on him for anything. But then, when she’d seen her mom at those rare family events, she had seemed at least a little bit interested to see how life was going… it was just a factor of _how much_ she seemed interested.

“Here you go… ah, so tell me. Why has it been so long?” Annie raised her eyebrows in surprise to her question, sending a thin lipped smile over to her mother as she sat down in an opposite arm chair.

“Er… a lot of things. I suppose, with, Sebastian… it wouldn’t hurt to have my _own_ mother in my life.” Annie slowly nodded, feeling slightly uncomfortable still… just waiting for the _real_ Felicity to come out and bite her.

“Ah yes… I must admit that was quite the surprise… I’ve seen pictures through Anthony… you’re still in touch with him I suspect?”

“Yup, he came to visit when I was in Colorado, actually.”

“Oh really… he never mentioned it.” Annie nodded thinking to herself sarcastically, _I wonder why?_

“Hmm.” Annie hummed, taking a sip from her coffee.

“So is it… Sebastian Edison? Sebastian…?” Annie was sure her neck was going to be sore by the end of this week/day/however long it was going to be with all the slow nodding she was doing.

“It’s Winger… actually. Like me, haha!” Annie giggled slightly, trying to lighten the mood, pointing a finger to her ring and rubbing slightly as she let her hand rest on her knee.

“And its Josh? James? Jim? No… err, Jack?” _Of course, you don’t even know your son-in-laws name._

“It’s Jeff…. Jeffrey… Winger.” Felicity sat back mouthing an ‘Ah yes’ as she sipped at her own coffee.

“And you’re living in… DC now, isn’t it? Whereabouts?”

“A ten-minute drive from the White House actually… which is pretty exciting.” Annie was still nodding, tucking her legs up underneath her in an attempt to make herself more comfortable.

“But you’re not in medicines now are you?”

“No… I’m in forensics now.”

“Ah yes, I never quite understood that… why did you ever stop?” Felicity asked as if it’s the most bizarre decision anyone’s ever made in their life.

“I just wasn’t really interested anymore… I’ve always been interested in criminology so I decided to change my major.”

“But you spent so long working for that. Isn’t that a waste of all that time?” Annie let out a slight laughing sigh, shaking her head at the fact that her mother was still indeed the same mother she’d always known.

“I just… lost interest and it turns out it was meant to be. I have the badge to show for it.” Annie said, pulling out her FBI ID card from her jean pocket. She carried it around, just in case she could ever make use of her credentials… plus, any opportunity to show off you worked at the FBI shouldn’t be missed, right?

“I always wanted you to be a doctor or something in the field… isn’t playing around in a lab all day a bit tedious?” Felicity laughed a little at her question, not realising that she was nearing the verge of ruining whatever reunion was happening.

“I don’t think you can count working at the FBI, _tedious_ mother. It’s… exciting, and I’ve learnt a lot. Even if I didn’t go down that path, I should still be proud of where I got to, right?” Annie shrugged, trying to force some sort of positive reaction from her mom.

“Hmm, perhaps… _just a shame that’s all._ ” Felicity mumbled the last statement, Annie realising what she’d said a few moments later, making her take a bit too much of her coffee, leaving her in a coughing fit until another question arose.

“Actually one thing your brother did mention was your roommate… I didn’t realise you had one.” _I’m not sure you realised anything you’re asking about… that’s why you’re asking._

“Oh yeah, Abed… yeah, well I moved in with him and our other friend Troy. He was at high school? Maybe you remember? They were in our study group… with Jeff. But, Troy went on a trip around the world when our friend Pierce died, and he’s doing really well now. He actually helps out Abed with film making because that’s what they were both interested in… so, yeah, they… were like brothers to me.” Annie nodded, thinking about the fact.

“Don’t forget Anthony will you my dear!” Felicity chuckled, making Annie nod some more with a smile.

“So err… I guess I should ask you some questions… when did you move here? It must have been a while ago now, right?” Felicity was nodding now, putting down her coffee at the same time.

“Yes, yes, five years now in fact. What were you doing around then?”

“Err, getting ready to graduate actually. Yeah… and then I came back to Greendale. They say good things have to come to an end but… Greendale was an amazing experience and I’m really glad I chose to stay.” Annie admitted, a quick smile flashing across her face.

“But think of everything else you could have done Annie… _so_ much.” Felicity pulled a face slightly at the thought making Annie twist her eyebrows.

“But, I made friends for life, I have a family and I have a job I love. I’ve come to realise that… just because you start on one path, doesn’t mean all the others are wrong. Right?”

“Tell me about your little family then Annie. How did that happen?” Annie’s mouth dropped down slightly at the tone of her question.

“Err, well, I found the person I want to spend the rest of my life with and… we wanted the same thing so, now I’m a mom… that’s how that happened.”

“What does he do? Jeff?”

“He’s a… teacher. He used to be lawyer but now he teaches law instead. He does a few classes for Greendale online and now does night school in DC. He’s really good.” Annie smiled again, trying to steer the conversation away from where she thought it was heading.

“A lawyer, huh? Why did he stop?”

“Because…” Annie shook her head a little before continuing. She could tell the _whole_ truth and say that he was actually a _phony_ lawyer and had to quit because he got caught… or she could tell the _other_ truth that was making her smile just thinking about it… “…his path didn’t work out how he wanted it either… and he started to realise that there’s more to life than just money and power. I mean, he cares more about other people than himself sometimes.”

“He’s older though, isn’t he? From what I’ve seen in pictures.” Annie’s smile faded a little, knowing that in terms of her mother, this could be _the_ question that ruins any attempt at fixing anything from the past.

“Yes, he is.” Annie replied confidently, looking away from her mom to avoid seeing her reaction.

“He must be… forty?”

“Forty-four.” Annie corrected her in a mumble.

“ _Oh Annie…_ oh…” Felicity tutted. Annie watched her, shaking her head and muttering under her breath, a look of disappointment on her face. Annie scrunched up her own, tutting out loud also, but for a totally separate reason.

“Huh! No! You do _not_ get to ‘Oh Annie’ me! If you _cared_ so much, then you would have been there, _ten_ years ago before _any_ of this happened. So, you do _not_ get to feel disappointed in me, or have _any_ say in whatever I do with my life because I’ve done it _all_ on my own. Even _dad_ cared more than you… he sent cheques every month when I was living above a _sex_ shop because it was all I could afford. Do you know the reason I came here? It was to prove to myself that it doesn’t matter that you weren’t there, because I _did_ it! And you _cannot_ judge me or any of my decisions, or Jeff for goodness sake! You have _no_ right to even _comment_ on him _!_ He’s the _one_ person who has _actually_ cared… and oh my god….” Annie paused; she was standing now, her pulse pounding in her ears as her anger finally spewed over the top.

“He’s the _one_ person who cared, and now I’m here, across the country because I thought maybe, _just_ maybe, there might be someone else who cared too… but it looks like my own mother cares more about her expectations than what she could have in reality. Jeff _loves_ me. He couldn’t tell me that for _six_ years because he thought he was holding me back from doing what I wanted to do, but he’s the reason I _did_ it. So no, it’s not ‘Oh Annie’. I’m sorry mom, but I think you’ll just have to judge people without me.”

* * *

 

Annie stumbled back into the apartment later that same evening after her flight (that had cost her an extortionate amount of money due to it being so last minute) landing in the afternoon. She slowly pushed the door open, noticing no lights other than Jeff’s laptop screen that was propped open on the kitchen counter. She noticed him slumped asleep on the couch, an empty glass of scotch on the coffee table. She slumped her bag down before slipping off her shoes and tiptoeing across to the kitchen, squinting her eyes a little as he glanced at his computer screen…

* * *

 

 _To:_ Me (Jeff Winger)  
_From:_ Daniel Schmidt  
_Subject:_ A Teaching Opportunity

_ Content: _

Dear Mr Winger,

I hope this finds you well.  
I wanted to send over a quick message as it has been a pleasure to have you at night school this past semester or two. You really have been a great addition to the team. I’ve had a chat with a few other departments and they all seem positive towards the possibility of you joining the team outside of night school. Perhaps teaching a class or two a day, to our regular students.

It’s just an idea of course and we would be absolutely fine with you staying on at night school but the opportunity is here for the taking if you were ever interested in taking up a bigger role in the school. 

I’ve also heard you’re taking the week off which is of course deserved. Have a great time with your family.

Regards,  
Daniel Schmidt  
HR at Washington DCC

* * *

 

Annie pouted; Jeff had been able to get the week off and she’d left him alone before he’d even got the chance to tell her… and now he’d been offered a job and she felt equally as guilty. She looked over to him on the couch, sound asleep, biting down on her lip at the fact that he really was the only person who truly, wholly cared for her. He might have been working late, and things might not have been perfect between them, but right now, all that mattered was that he was still there for her, through everything.

She creeped over to the couch, slowly lifting one of his arms so she could tuck in beside him, her nose centimetres away from his… she was half tempted to stroke a finger down it; the hook at the end always fascinated her in an odd way, ever since she’d been able to get a look up close… ever since she became the _only_ one who was able to look up close, and wrap her arms around him. Unfortunately, even with her sneaking skills, Jeff’s eyes opened up with a flutter, a tiny glimpse of a smile on his face.

“Do you wanna’ talk about it?” He asked groggily, a whiff of scotch leaving his mouth. Annie shook her head, almost barely noticeable, before tucking herself in closer.

_“I just want to stay here.”_

* * *

 

The next day, Jeff and Annie strolled along to the park, their hands clasped tightly together as Sebastian toddled ahead in front of him. As they walked along they finally got onto the topic of Annie’s spontaneous trip to her mom’s that hadn’t exactly gone to plan.

“I guess the more time that went on, the more I knew I had like a… an _excuse_ to go. For some reason I thought maybe if I made myself… and us, _worse_ then maybe she’d be able to… comfort me? Which was just _so_ stupid and I don’t know why I thought that would happen but… I guess now I know, right?” Jeff nodded, sending a small squeeze through their clasped hands as he agreed.

“I… get it, and you’re not stupid. It took me _twice_ as long to go and see my dad and look what happened there. It sucks, and it always will because you _expect_ so much from them but they’re just as messed up and crazy as we are… so I guess the whole idea is that you have to learn from that and move it along for the next people.” Jeff said, pointing towards Sebastian.

“But I took it out on you… and I feel bad.”

“Yeah, and who cares?” Jeff paused, quickly finishing his question before Annie could speak, “Other than you?”

Annie rolled her eyes and sighed, before leaning her head on the top of Jeff’s arm as Sebastian slowed down up ahead.

“I missed you.”

“Missed you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I don't know of colleges in Washington DC so imagine Washington DCC (DC College) as a fictional school!)


	12. 2018 - May

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (All I'm going to say is that this could quite possibly be the penultimate chapter (although I am planning a short epilogue...). Dun-dun-dun... I hope you've enjoyed it whilst it's lasted! I'm sure I'll be back for more until we *fingers crossed* get this movie! So enjoy, and I'll see you shortly with the last chapter (or two)... Thanks again!)

**May**

Jeff was working away in his classroom one evening when Annie decided to pop by. Jeff’s first initial thought being about Sebastian as soon as she stepped inside the door. He looked up and pouted slightly, checking the time on his laptop, his slight feeling of panic dying down as he realised it wasn’t too late.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Jeff lent back in his chair as she wondered through the aisles of desks. She’d never actually been inside of the school before so she didn’t really know what to expect, so she was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t any worse than Greendale.

“Not much I just wanted to come by… see what you were up to…” Annie spoke, brushing her fingers against the final front row desk. Jeff nodded, clicking save on a file on his laptop by closing it down and stacking a few sheets of paper on top.

“You okay?”

“Yeah… well, actually I just… I know they offered you a job… and you haven’t mentioned it so I guess… I think you should take it. Not that my opinion really matters or whatever but… I think it would be really good and… it’s probably about time we let go of Greendale. I mean, you were always saying how much you wanted to get out of there, right?” Annie was now perched on the edge of Jeff’s desk, her legs crossed out in front her. Jeff bit down on his lip, wondering how she’d found out before nodding once again.

“Yeah… you really think so?” Annie nodded firmly with a smile.

“How d’you find out?”

“Oh… err, you left your laptop open that night I came home from my mom’s. I _promise_ I didn’t look at anything else, it was just there and… well, I guess I thought you’d tell me but it doesn’t really matter. You should take it _and_ we should go and get something to eat because I’m hungry and we should celebrate.” Jeff laughed under his breath, pushing out from his desk and joining her around at the opposite side.

“Also… I’ve kind of been thinking and… well…” Annie paused for a second, pulling out her necklace from under her blouse that she’d left on from work, “...what if we added another… letter?” Jeff’s eyes widened as she pointed to the small discs, his eyes flicking back to her face to check he hadn’t misheard her.

“Really?”

“I don’t know… maybe? I just... I don’t know! It was just a thought because you mentioned it and… I don’t know, who knows?!” Annie shook her head shyly, making Jeff smile back at her. He nodded in thought, taking her hand in his and rubbing his thumb against the smooth skin.

“Yeah, I’d like that.” Jeff’s smile widened before he tucked her into his chest, kissing her hair and wrapping an arm tightly around her.

* * *

 

Annie was fretting slightly. It was going to be the first time she’d attended something of Jeff’s with him as a couple… other than at Greendale that was, where she’d felt totally at home. The evening was a staff dinner at his college (he’d accepted the job and would be starting after the summer break), and she could tell she was nervous due to the fact that her mind was on overdrive with rambling thoughts.

Jeff was dressed up in a smart grey suit jacket and trousers, with a crisp t-shirt underneath to match, complimenting Annie’s flowy navy dress that she’d picked out that cut off just below her knees. She blew out a breath a little before brushing her hands down it and flicking a piece of loose mascara from under her eye.

“Do I look okay?” Annie asked as Jeff fiddled with his suit sleeves. He turned and smiled at her, taking in all of her beauty.

“Hell yeah.” Annie rolled her eyes with a smile before leaning up and pecking him on the lips. It was only a five-minute drive to the campus but with Annie’s nerves still lingering, it felt like an eternity. They walked up the steps together, Jeff’s hand on the small of Annie’s back as the entered into the buzzing room of teachers and staff, all mingling together with their respective partners. Jeff grabbed himself a champagne flute before offering Annie one (she declined, taking a glass of water from a tray herself), and gulping down the bubbles within a few seconds.

 _“Stop worrying. This has got nothing on the dinners we’ve been to for your work.”_ Jeff whispered into ear, his warm breath heating up her whole cheek, leaving it flushed.

“Ah, Mr Winger, great to see you. This must be your… Annie?” Jeff watched on as she took the Dean of Student’s hand with a smile and polite laugh, nodding to a few of his questions.

“It’s great to hear you’ll be joining us next semester Mr Winger. I’d love to chat but I need to just dash out back if that’s okay. Enjoy the free booze, haha!” Jeff smiled as he walked away, blending into the crowded hall.

 _“Who was he?”_ Annie whispered as Jeff waved his glass to a few people wondering past.

 _“Dean of Students.”_ Annie smiled as yet another person walked on by, the realisation that she genuinely had no idea who anybody was bringing the butterflies back that she had almost quite literally _diluted_ with her drink.

“Hey Jeff, nice to see you here.” Michael (a fellow teacher of law at Washington DCC) spoke, poking out a hand that Jeff received with a shake. He had a slim blonde woman on his arm, looking a lot more glamorous than Annie felt she did, making her look down at her legs and pair of black strappy heels in a spurt of self-consciousness.

“Hey Mike. This is err, Annie by the way.” Annie shot her eyes back up, smiling and accepting an air kiss of some sorts on the side of her cheeks, the strong musk of deep cologne overpowering her. That was one thing she’d found out very soon after living with Jeff – although he did own the odd generic aftershave, most of his fragrances had a hint of fruitiness to them so she never had to deal with the stench.

“Yes, Jeff’s told me a lot about you.” Jeff stood to the side, giving Annie the perfect distance to look up questioningly with a smile.

“Oh really? Haha, well, it’s really nice to meet you.” Annie smiled, noticing that his blonde accompaniment had wondered off elsewhere.

“Oh yeah, he’s always going on about you. Can’t get the guy to shut up.” Annie laughed a little before glancing back up to Jeff once more, who was tilting his head slightly.

“I wouldn’t say _all_ the time.”

“He’ll deny it but it’s true. Is he always like this?” Mike said, nudging Jeff with his elbow. Annie smiled, dropping her mouth down slightly before squinting and adding a response.

“Hmm, I don’t know… Jeff and denial don’t really seem to ring any bells.” Jeff lent his neck back and down again in a long slow nod, trying not to laugh at her obvious sarcasm. He flashed his eyebrows up with his tongue in his cheek, Annie trying herbest not to laugh either.

“Haha, well, what he _has_ said has been fantastic. FBI agent, did I here?” Jeff grabbed another champagne flute from a passing waitress (Who knew there was waitress service at a college staff dinner? Who knew there was even _staff dinners?_ ), just missing Annie’s confused face she was pulling at him.

“Oh no, no, I’m not an _agent_ just yet, no, I work in the forensics department.” Annie laughed a bit before Jeff butted back into the conversation.

“But she has a badge to show for it, so…” Jeff shrugged, waving his hand in her direction.

“It’s an _ID_ badge. I can’t exactly get a free plane ticket with it.” Mike was chuckling now, the conversation picking up nicely to sooth Annie’s nerves. Before they knew it they were off talking about parenting and forgetting about the rest of the party swirling around them.

“I don’t know if Jeff’s ever mentioned but we have a seven and a three-year-old; Chloe and Milo… Sebastian must be what… two now?”

“Oh no, he’s two in September.” Annie corrected him with a smile, noticing how Jeff’s arm was now around her back, his hand resting on her hip.

“Ah yes, well we should get the boys together, I’m sure Milo wouldn’t mind.” Annie laughed a little bit with a nod, taking a sip of her water.

“Never have two though, terrible idea. The little demons are all over the place.” Annie choked slightly at the comment, Jeff having to put down his empty flute to rub her shoulder slightly as she tried to conceal her splutter. His hand didn’t move though, his thumb brushing against the skin that was revealed by her sleeveless dress.

“So Annie have you ever thought of teaching?” Annie’s ears pricked up at the question, her mind racing back to the time Jeff had panicked and almost persuaded her to get into teaching once he’d heard about her internship.

“Err, kind of… but I’m pretty happy with what I’m doing now. I’ll leave Jeff to do the teaching… maybe one day.” She said, peering up and behind her to a smiling Jeff who was extremely tempted to lean forward and kiss right there and then.

“You should chat to our forensics professor, he’s right over there, I can introduce you if you like.” Annie raised her eyebrows in a slight nod, looking back to Jeff before being whisked away. Jeff smiled as she saw her shyly start to mingle around with other people… it was almost as if Mike had completely misunderstood what she was trying to say.

Soon they were both off chatting separately, Annie being drawn into a conversation about teaching that she genuinely had no interest in other than the fact that they were Jeff’s ‘colleagues’ and sometimes his name was mentioned.

It was times like this when they both knew they were just so utterly connected. That after all that time of being distant back at Greendale, it really was almost as if something always brought them back together. It was the way that Annie could hear Jeff’s laugh as if nothing else was in the room, over all the hustle and bustle; it was the way that Jeff knew Annie was smiling when he glanced over every now and again, timing it perfectly so she wouldn’t notice, just to get that chance for her to be _his_ for those few small seconds. It was the way that they bothjust knew when to look up, and share a moment as they caught each other in their eye line.

It was the kind of moment that Annie had ‘misread’ all of those years ago, and the kind of moment that Jeff had clung onto when he thought there was never a chance that she could be the _one._  


	13. 2018 - June

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (The final full chapter. I really hope you've enjoyed it... the small "epilogue" kinda' thing is in the next one! Enjoy...)

**June**

It was the end of the semester at Greendale, which for Jeff and Annie, meant the end of what you could quite possibly be define as an era. It had almost been ten years since Jeff had stepped foot onto the campus, his eyes falling onto the first good looking female he could find, who would somehow end up being more like an unconventional sister that he used to hook up with, _rather than_ his date; the title that he’d set out for the most part of their first year.

Jeff was in Colorado alone to wish off his class for the summer and file away a few pieces of paperwork before he headed back to what was now home, in DC. It was his last day of a slow week, leading up to the grand farewell which he was expecting to be quite the opposite. He’d shared a few drinks with the final gang (Craig, Frankie, Britta and Chang) the night before, waking up feeling unsettled, not knowing whether it was a minor hangover or the true feeling of knowing that this was _it._ As he slipped on his shoes and checked out of his hotel room (both Britta and Craig had offered for him to stay, but he couldn’t be bothered to stand Britta’s cats or Craig’s well… cat _costumes_ ), he laughed under his breath for a second at the thought that he’d stayed connected with Greendale for so long.

He had gotten away though, and he had Annie to thank for that. He now knew of people outside of the study group, he had colleagues who respected him (in a way that was less in your face than the Dean’s daily ‘sexual harassment’), and he had a family that was sure to be expanding soon enough. He’d even spoken to Annie about the possibility of adding a dog to the list; she hadn’t said no, in fact she’d basically said ‘Yes, but not now, we can’t have pets in the apartment’, which gave them yet another reason to start saving up a bit for a place of their own.

He then found himself taking a longer route through campus; the only time he’d ever really done it before was on his graduation night… the time when he was so sure he would never be coming back longer than a quick call-in for the group. It was an odd feeling, knowing that almost every blade of grass and every inch of concrete had some form of memory to it.

He passed by the patch of grass that had been home to mainly Vaughn; remembering the time when he’d rolled around with Britta and the time Annie had almost pulled his face off right in front of him. For some reason though, Jeff didn’t find himself cringing, he found himself smiling, his hands in his jean pockets as he moved onto something else. Even Pierce crept into memory lane with the bench that had taught Jeff a very important lesson about keeping what you love in close range.

Then of course there were bigger memories, actually making his eye twitch slightly, a sudden burst of moisture making him blink slightly more than usual. He wasn’t _crying_ (he never cried… okay perhaps he had when Sebastian was born, but that was fairly explainable), but standing outside of _the_ doorway where Annie had nervously lent on her tippy toes, pushing a kiss to his lips, was _definitely_ making himself feel something.

He stood in the exact spot where he’d stood, his eyes dancing around, trying not to focus too much on one particular thing as a lump grew in his throat. There were a few students wondering about, a couple of them shooting him strange looks, firstly for the fact that he was even _on_ campus after being away for quite a while, but mainly for the fact that he was just stood quietly, a finger rubbing against his wedding ring as he looked down to where Annie would have been all that time ago.

He knew deep down that even if they were happily married now, it doesn’t mean things would have worked out the way they did if he hadn’t had been such a jerk after that night. It was his fault really; Annie was just living in the moment and trying something new because that was what everything was about back then… she had growing up to do… but it was _him_ who had kissed her back. It was _him_ who was always brought back to her, even if he’d always denied it.

 _“What the hell did you do to me, Ann?”_ Jeff whispered, taking a gulp before turning on his heels and carrying on with his final tour.

“Jeffrey! Jeffrey! I thought I might find you out here.” But of course, this was Greendale, and going for a peaceful walk on your last day, couldn’t be that simple.

“What do you want Craig?”

“Well, seeing as this is your last day here…” Craig paused to push his glasses back up his nose, tutting sadly as if he was holding back tears, “…we err, have a little something for you in my office.” Craig scratched behind his ear before turning around, Jeff trailing behind.

* * *

 

“What’s all this?” Jeff said as his eyes landed on the Dean’s scattered desk. It was covered in random bits and bobs, a box marked ‘Mr Winger’ to one side, with its contents spilling out. Frankie was in the room too, and Rhonda, sitting in the corner with a cup of coffee.

“Oh it’s nothing Jeffrey, just a few bits and bobs and some Greendale memorabilia for you to take with you on your travels.” Jeff looked down at the Dean with a confused expression, before taking a step forward, his eyes scanning the desk. There were plenty of recognisable items; from a Greendale Human Being plushie, an ‘E PLURIBUS ANUS’ mug and even a Greendale flag that was sure to be big enough to cover a whole wall of Jeff and Annie’s apartment (not that that was actually a valid idea – that was _never_ happening, ever).

Jeff’s eye caught onto a couple of more significant things though (to him anyway), like a stack of brightly coloured paintball guns… and what Jeff knew as Greendale’s one and only trophy. He picked it up and rubbed his thumb against the engraving along the base, the words ‘DEBATE TEAM CHAMPIONS 2009’, etched out on the cheaply manufactured piece of well, junk, really.

Jeff turned around and smiled, looking back at Craig and Frankie who were smiling just the same.

“Thanks. I can’t believe I’m about to say this but… I really appreciate all your help. Greendale has been… incredible and I’ll never forget it.” Jeff nodded slightly before placing the trophy back down on the desk behind him and accepting a hug from Craig. In fact, he almost hugged back. Throughout all his weirdness and well, creepiness, Jeff couldn’t deny the fact that Craig was also part of his Greendale family, and he was sure to be missed.

* * *

 

Jeff packed away some of things into the box, leaving a couple of bigger items (like the tiger striped paintball gun that was sure to get him in some trouble through airport security) behind. He left the box inside in the Dean’s office, knowing he’d come back later after he’d done just two more things on his list. He walked down the hallway, the mini trophy in hand, and pulled back the unlocked cabinet door, ignoring strange looks from passing by students, placing the cup back where it belonged. If that cabinet was going to stay almost empty, it will be because of that one piece of junk, rather than a family of spiders crawling in the corner.

He smiled a bit, just as he had when he’d come back after a disastrous year of returning to law, clicking the cabinet closed before walking down the hallway, all the way to the library, stepping foot back into Group Study Room F. He shut the door behind him, leaning on the doorframe to take a picture on his phone, before the shutters flapped around again.

“Hey.” Jeff spoke up, putting his phone back in his pocket as Britta stood beside him.

“So this is it, huh?” Britta stood, stretching out her clasped hands in front of her.

“Yeah. This is it.” Jeff stood forward, clenching his teeth as he crossed his arms, noticing that not a lot had been touched since he was last here. It wasn’t that nobody used the room, but most people stayed clear knowing full well it didn’t really ‘belong to them’.

“We had some _crazy_ times. A _lot_ happened in here, huh?”

“Yeah, a _lot._ ”

“Your _wife_ had a nervous breakdown over losing a pen, Shirley got re-married, Pierce was obscenely racist, Troy decided to travel around the world, Abed _also_ had a nervous _and_ mental breakdown at Christmas, I was the best, and you sliced the old table with a fire axe… oh and if we really want to count them, Chang was just generally insane and the Dean once had a goatee.” Jeff laughed at some of her comments, thinking of correcting her on the ‘I was the best’ statement, but let it slide.

“So we were all pretty sane then, right?”

“I’m telling you, I _was_ the best. It may not have seemed like it, but where was my nervous breakdown? When did I scream at the top of my lungs or act like there was an evil timeline?” Jeff couldn’t believe that he was almost nodding in agreement.

“I guess it’s just coming… especially if you stay here in any longer.”

“Ugh shut up, I’m still working on my major thank you very much. Speaking of coming… why isn’t Annie here? I thought she would have leapt to the idea of saying goodbye to Greendale.” Britta said, scuffing her foot along the floor a little.

“Yeah, well, she err, has work still and also, someone needs to look after Sebastian.”

“Oh few, I thought you were going to say she’s pregnant or something.” Jeff gulped, immediately biting down on his lip and squinting slightly, the tiniest glimmer of a smile crossing his face. Britta looked up and squinted suspiciously before dropping her mouth open and stomping her foot.

“Oh my gosh! You’re _serious?!_ ” Britta’s voice squeaked.

“Yeah…. there might be a little bit of that too.” Jeff puffed out his face with a smile, uncrossing his arms, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.

“Wow… two kids, huh? The next thing you’ll be saying is that this one was _planned_.” Jeff didn’t respond.

“Oh my gosh. Seriously, if the old you were to meet you now, I’m not even sure you’d recognise one and other.”

“Why, because I’m even more devishly handsome?” Jeff grinned, receiving a rolled eye and a moan from Britta.

“No but seriously… if we’d all walked in that study room and received a sheet of paper with like, our whole life mapped up… what do you reckon you’d do? I’d bet you run for the hills!” Jeff tilted his head in thought.

“I think you might be right.” He laughed.

“You were so adamant on getting in my pants, you would probably die knowing that you’d end up married with _two_ kids with Annie. I mean, not like she was _that_ bad or anything but… I mean, come on… you wanted to be a lawyer drinking booze all day.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. I don’t know what she would do… she’d probably punch me in the face for ruining her life or something.” Jeff laughed a little, actually curious now to know her answer to the ridiculous question.

“I’d probably stick it out, I mean, I don’t really know what else I would have done.”

“Yeah you probably want to sleep with me too.” Jeff winked with a clicking noise, both of them cringing afterwards realising that was a bit of an odd topic to talk about now that Jeff was with Annie.

“Shirley would probably feel ashamed of the fact she had sex with Chang, so she’d probably run away too; I’m not sure what Pierce would do, maybe he’d stick it out until the end so that he could experience dying the way he did… Troy would almost definitely stay, even if it were just for the money… and Abed would do it out of intrigue at the fact that he knew how his life was going to go. It’s an odd question to ask yourself.”

They both nodded for a few moments, looking down at each other with a smile.

“Thank you.” Jeff spoke honestly.

“For what?” Britta squeaked in confusion.

“For… I don’t know, cutting me out on my crap. I know Annie does that too but I think you were the first person to shake me up and realise that I wasn’t as cool as I thought I was. You helped me a lot.”

“Glad to hear you finally admit it.” Britta smiled, holding her head up high. Jeff flashed an eyebrow up before letting out a slow sigh.

“Nah, I get it. Thanks to you too… I don’t really know what happened here with me but I guess I figured out who I am and all that and… _maybe_ you were involved in helping out… but thank god you chose Annie over me, I probably would have slit your throat the first whole day we spent together.”

“Yeah… speaking of things like that, things must be getting pretty serious with Darren now, right?” Jeff asked out of pure curiosity.

“Meh… he _may_ have mentioned getting engaged but I mean… you know.”

“Britta Perry getting _married?_ Now you’d been running for the hills.” They both snorted.

“Yeah, you do realise I only ever almost married you three times because I wasn’t thinking straight. Plus, I’d only ever marry him for the whole law thing, I doubt I’d even change my name.”

“Sounds about right.”

A few moments passed of quiet, the lights above flickering a little and the slow hum of the vents still buzzing like they always used to do. They stood alone for a second, Britta’s head resting on Jeff’s arm as they pondered over different memories. Jeff looked at his watch, not trusting the wall clock that probably hadn’t been touched for a few _years._

“I guess I better get going. I have a flight to catch.” Britta stood up straight, stretching out her arms before wrapping them up and around Jeff. Jeff tucked his head on Britta’s shoulder, closing his eyes for a second to genuinely appreciate the moment. It was weird, knowing that you’d shared intimate moments with a person but just being friends for so long. As they pulled away, they shared a smile before Jeff slipped his hands in his back pockets.

“So… you’ll be coming back right?” Britta asked, causing Jeff to smile at the question.

“Probably… maybe…” Jeff paused, looking over to Table Mark II, glancing over to his chair and what used to be Annie’s.

“Yeah… we will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Firstly - did anyone pick up in the last chapter that Annie was pregnant? I was really sly with it and only made one or two comments but I wanted to drop a hint before this chapte, so would be interesting to know if anyone did! Also - Please let me know if you have any prompts or ideas you want written... I'm thinking of doing another Season 7 one (hopefully shorter - haha) that involves Annie getting hurt/something goes wrong in DC and Jeff goes to help her. Not sure - just hit me up with any ideas throughout any season!)


	14. 2020 - February (EPILOGUE)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I don't really know if I can call this an Epilogue, but it gives you a bit of an idea of what happened next. Hope you've enjoyed the ride on this one! Once again, if you have any requests/prompts - hit me up!)

**February (2020)**

Jeff and Annie were happily having breakfast one morning, Sebastian toddling around with his milk bottle, talking to himself about cars of some sort with his younger brother Finn swaying his legs in his highchair as he scooped up some cereal from a bowl. They never really had peaceful mornings anymore as there was always either a baby or dog crying. This time it was Pierce (after moving out of their apartment, they’d adopted a dog and named him in memory of their crazy old friend – although when Troy and Abed came over they always insisted in calling him Jeff’s Abs, the story being that one-day Pierce would escape and find his true love of Annie’s Boobs… _yes, they were still just as weird as before_ ) jumping around at the front door as a letter dropped down through the letterbox.

Annie got up, just skimming passed Sebastian as he ran around with his favourite monkey toy, his milk long abandoned somewhere between a pile of cushions. She picked up the letter and frowned in surprise that it was from Britta, the weight of it definitely didn’t just feel like a letter either.

“What’s that?” Jeff asked as he cleared the table, taking Finn’s food from him before it ended up splattered across the floor.

“Hmm, it’s from Britta. It’s for you though.” Jeff frowned too, taking the envelope from Annie’s hand. He slowly peeled it open as Annie peered over his arm, her eyes widening at a black and white photograph of a style that Jeff and Annie had two very similar and very precious copies of.

“Wait… wha…”

The photo (or ‘scan’) wasn’t the only thing in the envelope though. Inside was a cheque and a small note handwritten by Britta. Annie was still left totally confused whilst Jeff smirked and remembered what it meant… because true friends never forget.

_To Jeff (and Annie) –_

_I owe you $50..._


End file.
